Hands Fall Together
by Kihin Ranno
Summary: When one detail is altered, history as we knew it can be forever changed. For example, one wonders what might have happened if Luna had found Mamoru before Usagi. Could that incident mean the difference between living and dying?
1. The Consequences of Being Late

Hands Fall Together  
Part One: The Consequences of Being Late  
1/27  
by Kihin Ranno  
PG-13

It was dark.  
  
No more about the chasm needed to be said. An opening within a sea of rock should have been nothing more than dark. Perhaps one might have been able to throw in the description of it being dank, dreary, dripping, or a few other 'd' words, but dark should have sufficed. One should not have been able to go on to speak about the hordes of people, if they were in fact human beings. One should not have had to mention the dim light that poured forth from an orb that floated at the front of the room. One should not have had to discuss the pale, blond man kneeling before the orb, the throne carved out of the rock, and the demon goddess that sat upon it.  
  
But all those were there, in the bowels of the Dark Kingdom.  
  
"Jadeite," said the woman who sat confidently on the throne in a voice that was both chilling and enticing. She was dangerous in her own right, but she had a certain amount of allure. It was like the moth drawn to the flame.  
  
Jadeite knew this all too well, but he did not desire his queen. He would do her bidding and do his job, but no more. Because while he did not lust for the dark empress before him, he was desperate for the power she could give him. And he would do anything to get it.  
  
Jadeite got to his feet, standing straight and tall, raising his eyes to meet hers. Snake-like eyes met his own. They were now cold and empty, although they had once been full of life and promise. She was the only one left who recalled this...  
  
Save one.  
  
"Yes, my queen?" Jadeite said with practiced reverence. "What is it you summoned me for?"  
  
"I would like to know..." she said slowly, deliberately. It was as if she was making sure that he understood every word that came from her mouth to ensure that there was no room for a mistake or misunderstanding. Her insurance should anything go awry. "Are we any closer to finding the crystal? Or are we at the same place we were when we started?"  
  
Jadeite inclined his head in a sort of half bow. It was a sure sign that he had nothing to report except bad news. "My queen, I am afraid that there has been no trace of the gem we seek. But... because you have been sending me and the others out looking for the crystal, none of us have been focused on collecting energy.  
We are running low. You know that we need energy in order to seek out the crystal and for the resurrection."  
  
"Yes..." She said, dragging out the 's' so that it sounded far too much like a snake for Jadeite's comfort. He fought back the urge to shudder as she continued.  
"We have considered the problem. What do you suggest we do, Jadeite?"  
  
Jadeite blinked a little, not being used to make such a decision before. Perhaps once long ago, he would have been able to react quickly. But then he was only a shadow of what he once was. He stuttered a little at first, before regaining control of himself. "Well, your majesty, I've already tried to send out a few members of our army to gather energy. However, they can only go out at night.  
They have not been very successful."  
  
The queen's eyes narrowed and her cool, calculating manner disappeared. The orb that floated between her bony hands flashed red as she shouted in a rage. "I did not ask you what had not worked, Jadeite! I would like to know what you think we should do to solve the problem!"  
  
Jadeite flinched as her voice echoed throughout the chasm. The onlookers howled and shrieked in agony as they felt her wrath, cowering in fear. Several fled in terror. Jadeite kept his back straight, refusing to show the queen any fear.  
Nevertheless, she did not fail to notice that he had grown paler within the last few moments. It filled her with some form of satisfaction.  
  
Once he felt the atmosphere grow less tense, Jadeite inclined his head again and said, "Forgive me... What I meant was, I believe that one of the four should discontinue his search for the crystal and concentrate on gathering energy for the good of the kingdom."  
  
The queen sat back on her dark throne, her eyes losing the anger that had been there only moments before. She seemed to consider the idea for a moment. "And who do you suggest would be best suited for the job?"  
  
Jadeite, having long ago trained himself for this type of question, immediately responded without so much as a second thought. "Whoever you believe is best will be suited for the task, your highness."  
  
"Good answer," she said with a laugh that contained no mirth. "And for that, you shall be the one to go after the energy. Come back to me tomorrow with your plan.  
No excuses."  
  
"As you wish, Queen Beryl."  
  
-----  
  
The early morning light began to trickle into the darkened room, slowly illuminating it. The form underneath the covers was curled up into a little ball with their hand hanging over the side of the bed. They probably weren't even aware of it, but when the alarm clock had gone off, they had ripped the plug from the wall in a successful attempt to silence the awful beeping that threatened to awaken them.  
  
Eventually, the sunlight managed to make its way to the head of the bed. The brightness forced the sleeper's lazy blue eyes to open...  
  
And Chiba Mamoru woke up with a start.  
  
He quickly looked over at his alarm clock to see what time it was. He soon realized that considering it was not plugged in, he would learn nothing. Mamoru threw off the covers and staggered into the kitchen as quickly as he could...  
  
And saw that he was late.  
  
"Damn it!" Mamoru swore as he spun around and ran back to his bedroom, all hints of sleep eradicated from his mind. He cursed again when he stubbed his toe on his entertainment center. He hopped uncomfortably into his bed room and began mutter to himself.  
  
"I can't believe this... Of all the days to oversleep!" Mamoru moaned as he threw the doors of the closet open and pulled out his usual black turtleneck and khakis.  
He decided he would just have to forego his morning shower and hope that no one stood downwind of him.  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have studied so late for this Physiology test..." Mamoru scolded himself as he struggled to get the turtleneck over his head. "But is it MY fault that the professor was out for two weeks so that idiotic excuse for a teacher had to take over? She's the one who absolutely no idea as to what she was doing! It's her fault that she can't properly explain the Lymphatic system!"  
  
Mamoru wasn't usually this critical or mean spirited, but at this hour of the morning, he simply couldn't help it. Nor was he usually this ill-prepared for an exam, but he just had not been able to concentrate for the past two weeks.  
  
He couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.  
  
But right now, the only future Mamoru was concerned about was his career as a doctor. If he didn't pass... Well in Mamoru's case, ace all of his science classes, he was unsure if he'd be able to get into a good Medical school. Then all of his dreams would be dashed because of one simple yet very important test.  
  
"I hate my life." Mamoru said as he cinched his belt just a little too tightly.  
  
Mamoru ran a hand threw his dark hair, hoping that would be enough to at least make himself look presentable. He had already realized that he would by no means be looking like his normal, completely put together self. But Mamoru had decided to just grit his teeth and bear it. After all, he had suffered worse ordeals in his lifetime.  
  
But he wouldn't think about that.  
  
Mamoru quickly dashed into the bathroom and washed his face and brushed his teeth at lighting speed. He also knew he was going to have to forego his normal coffee and bagel breakfast if he was going to even have a prayer of making it to class on time. He also found himself having to ignore the noticeable amount of stubble on his face. Each thing he was having to give up was becoming harder and harder to deal with.  
  
He quickly ran out to the living room and grabbed all of the books he thought he would need that day. Then he stepped into his shoes, not bothering to lace them up, deciding he would deal with that later. He grabbed his green jacket from the coat rack and transferred some of his papers to his teeth so he could get one of his arms through the sleeves. Then he somehow managed to open and close the door,  
nearly upsetting the vase of red roses that was in his small foyer.  
  
Mamoru skipped the elevator, not wanting to wait for it and started down the stairs. Unfortunately, he lived towards the top of his apartment complex. It was going to be a very long run indeed. On the way down he managed to reorganize all of his papers, completely put on his jacket, and even tie his shoes.  
  
Amazing what a person can do when they put their mind to it.  
  
Mamoru raced out the door of the complex. He checked his watch and very nearly let out a jubilant cry when he realized that he would make it if he took his motorcycle and sped just an itty bitty bit. School was only a few kilometers from his apartment. Surely he would be able to make it in time. Mamoru's face broke into a bright smile as he thought, 'Perhaps this won't be such a bad day after all...'  
  
Of course, now something terrible had to happen to him.  
  
Mamoru didn't hear it just yet, as he was far too engrossed in his triumphant realization. Just a few feet behind him, and gaining fast, was a young, blonde girl. She was also late, though far more pessimistic than Mamoru... and screaming at the top of her lungs...  
  
"Oh my God! I can't believe how late I am today! Oh, I don't understand why mother listens when I tell her I'm awake!"  
  
Mamoru still didn't hear her, but he was getting that feeling again... that feeling that something awful was about to happen.  
  
And just then, the girl barreled into him at full force, knocking him flat on his face. All of Mamoru's papers went flying as did one of his shoes. His keys flew out of his hands and flew off to a currently unknown location... Though he had a sinking suspicion.  
  
He could have spit bullets.  
  
The girl barely noticed him. Normally, she would have stopped and apologized profusely. Now all she did was call back, "I'm really sorry, but I'm just so late!"  
  
Mamoru growled as he peeled his face off of the hard pavement, glaring after her.  
He was quite tempted to take after her and beat her into a true, honest apology,  
but of course he didn't have time...  
  
For once, Tsukino Usagi was not the only one late for class.  
  
-----  
  
Now that she was well over twenty feet away from the man she had just knocked down, Usagi began to entertain the notion of turning around. She had barely given him a backwards glance after running him over, and she couldn't help but feel guilty about it. After all, it wasn't his fault that she had been too busy screaming her head off about her mother making her late that she didn't see him walking there. The very least she could do was help him out, right?  
  
"Oh, but I can't be late again..." Usagi said to herself, "Ms. Haruna said she would give me detention for a month if I didn't show up on time today. And Motoki said that he was going to get some new video games in soon! I can't miss out on those!"  
  
It should be noted that Usagi had very odd priorities in life.  
  
Usagi was torn. She knew it was selfish to keep on running like this when that other guy was probably still crawling around on the sidewalk trying to find his shoe. On the other hand, she knew that she was going to get her test back today.  
Considering she had not studied at all, slept through class, and forgotten to turn the test over to notice the back page... Well, she had a feeling it wasn't going to be good. She would rather be yelled at just because of her test than because of her test and being late.  
  
Usagi stopped running just a few blocks away from the school, and turned around to look back and see if that guy was all right. Of course, Usagi was too far away to see if he was on his feet or not. Even if she was any closer to the scene of the crime, so to speak, there was a throng of people rushing to get to work that were obstructing her view.  
  
Usagi bit her lip worriedly and said, "That poor guy... I really should go back and help him."  
  
The blonde considered it for another moment or two, but then she heard a cat meowing loudly and it broke her concentration. It had sounded like it was in pain or something, and she had always had a bit of a soft spot for cats. If it was hurt she wanted to help it.  
  
Had Mamoru been there, he probably would have commented that he wished this concern extended to human beings.  
  
Usagi tried to find the source of the cry, but all she saw was a group of little boys. It was probably trivial, like most of the conversations Shingo had with his friends. But from the looks on their faces one would have thought they were talking about the cure for cancer.  
  
Usagi sighed and threw her hand up in the air. "What am I standing around for? I keep acting like I crippled that guy for life or something! I'm sure he is more than capable of picking up a few papers and walking again. I on the other hand need to get to school in--"  
  
Her speech was cut off by the sound of the school bells ringing in the distance.  
All of the blood drained from her face as she looked down at her watch to make sure she wasn't hearing things. She shrieked when she realized that she was in fact sane and those were the bells that began the new school day. She gripped her briefcase and took off running again and became nothing but a blonde blur,  
screaming, "Oh no! Now I really am going to have detention for a month! Oh, stop ringing you stupid bell!"  
  
One of the little boys looked after her, blinking in confusion. At first he had thought that the teenager was talking to them, but as it turned out she had been talking to herself the entire time. He shook his head in disbelief, hoping that only girls were capable of acting crazy. He hastily turned back to his comrades and said the same thing they all said just about every day of their short lives.  
  
"Girls are so weird."  
  
His red headed companion nodded in agreement. His movements were jerky and overstated, as if he was trying to compensate for a lack of conviction. However,  
he voiced his agreement no matter what his true feelings were, as small children are apt to do. "You said it."  
  
The blond one snorted, not enjoying all of the attention the other boy was getting. Just a few minutes ago, he had been the center of conversation, but now he was losing control of that. In order to regain their interest he said, "You think that's bad? You should see my sister. She's always yelling at me about something."  
  
"Like what?" The second boy asked curiously.  
  
"Usually nothing." The blond replied matter-of-factly, "And I swear, at the beginning of every month, it's like she turns into a monster or something. If I breathe too loud, she starts hitting me with one of her stuffed animals."  
  
"How come?" asked the first, dark haired one.  
  
The blond shrugged casually. "I don't know. Mom says I'll understand it when I'm older, but I don't think I'll ever understand girls. It's like they're a totally different species or something..."  
  
He looked back down at the ground and pointed to the shaking black ball of fur that they were huddled around. "What do we do with this cat?"  
  
"I don't know. You're the one who caught it." The red head said with an exaggerated shrug, obviously trying to imitate the blond. He then turned to the first boy and said, "What do you think we should do with her?"  
  
He seemed to ponder this question for a moment, stroking his chin as though he had a beard. He did not fully understand why he was doing it, but it was something he'd seen his father do just before he came up with some brilliant idea. Then he attempted to snap his fingers, but failed in doing so. He didn't bother to try it again, but he did give his left hand a very contemptuous look of disapproval.  
  
"Let's see how loud it screams when we pull its tail!" He exclaimed at long last,  
feeling his appendage had learned it's lesson.  
  
"Yeah!" The other two chorused elatedly, since they could not think of anything more useful to do with a cat.  
  
The cat's amber eyes went wide with fear as she let out another helpless yowl,  
desperately scratching at the two band-aids on her forehead...  
  
-----  
  
Mamoru was livid.  
  
Not only had that brat not had the decency to stop and help him up, but she had caused him to drop the keys to his motorcycle, car, and apartment down into the wretched Tokyo sewer system. Thankfully he had spare sets in his apartment. He would get the super to let him in later that day, but there was no way that he could go back and do it now. Thus, Mamoru was going to have to walk, and he already knew that it was going to be impossible to reach the university on time on foot.  
  
If he ever saw that kid he again, he was almost positive that he would kill her.  
  
Since Mamoru knew he would not make it, he was walking just a little slower. He would more than likely pick up speed once he had all of the papers reorganized in his hands, but for now he was taking his time...  
  
And beginning to plot how he was going to kill that girl.  
  
"I could stab her, but that's just a little messy for my tastes... That rules out bludgeoning too. I don't want to have to deal with that much blood until my residency. I don't have access to a gun, and I'd rather not get involved in the Yakuza right now. That rules out shooting... I believe that leaves me with strangulation or poisoning... Ah decisions, decisions..."  
  
Normally, Mamoru was also not this homicidal. The things bad days do to people.  
  
Just then, Mamoru passed by a group of young boys, gathered around something.  
Mamoru was suspicious by nature, and he didn't like the sound of their conversation. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he decided to stop and listen in anyway.  
  
"What do we do with this cat?"  
  
"I don't know. You're the one who caught it. What do you think we should do with her?"  
  
"Let's see how loud it screams when we pull its tail!"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Mamoru sighed in exasperation as he heard the cat let out a mournful yowl. On a typical day he might not have done this, but he really did not want to come by later that day and find the cat lying dead in the street. He jogged over to the boys shouting, "Hey! You kids leave that cat alone!"  
  
The three boys spun around in horror, and then promptly took off running.  
  
"Adult! Run!"  
  
"I knew we never should have caught that cat!"  
  
"You're the one who wanted to do something with her!"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"You shut up!"  
  
"Forget it! Hurry up before he finds out who our parents are!"  
  
Mamoru blinked at the last comment, staring after their small backs. He would never understand what gave children the impression that adults all knew each other, and therefore would be able to discern the identities of their parents. It was even more baffling that they thought of him as an adult.  
  
Mamoru shifted his gaze back down to the cat, who was covering her head as though she were expecting to be hit at any moment. The man couldn't help but chuckle at the comical display, which caused the black cat to open one of her brown eyes.  
She looked around frantically for the young boys, and promptly relaxed when she saw they were gone.  
  
The odd thing was Mamoru could have sworn he heard the cat sigh in relief.  
  
He decided to ignore it, and bent down beside the cat, putting his papers back into the briefcase where they belonged. He picked her up gently and said, "You should really go home to your family. I won't always be around to save you from the clutches of evil nine year olds."  
  
The cat looked away from him, sticking her whiskers into the air. He thought that she meant to say, "I had the situation well in hand. I am perfectly capable of handling myself, thank you very much."  
  
He chuckled, feeling a little bit better now that he had done his good deed for the day. Mamoru scratched her lightly behind the ears and said, "Either way you shouldn't be out wandering alone..." Then he saw the two band-aids on her forehead and said, "See, you're already hurt."  
  
The cat blinked a few times as if just realizing something. Then she began meowing pathetically, scratching at her forehead anxiously. Mamoru was under the distinct impression that if the cat could talk, she would have been screaming,  
"Get these damn things off me!"  
  
Mamoru shook his head and said, "All right, all right. Take it easy. If you'd just sit still, I'd be able to take them off."  
  
The cat immediately stopped moving in mid-swipe, allowing Mamoru the necessary room to get to her forehead. He reached forward and gently grasped the edge of the top band-aid. He slowly pulled down, hoping that he wasn't causing the cat any discomfort. Then he began to see something gold peeking out from underneath the bandages. He furrowed his brow and continued pulling until the bandages were free from the cat's forehead.  
  
Mamoru blinked in surprise and nearly dropped the cat. He stared closely her forehead and said, "What in hell..."  
  
Just then, the cat let out a joyous meow and leapt up. She used Mamoru's head as a launching pad, causing him to drop the bandages from his hands. He cried out and spun around, looking ready to yell at the cat as though she could understand.  
But when he did, she was sitting on top of the wall, looking entirely innocent of having committed any crime.  
  
Mamoru sighed and said, "That's it. I'm out of here." He bent down and picked up his briefcase, saying, "I've had enough of being beaten up by women for one day."  
Then he turned and walked away.  
  
The little cat with the crescent moon was still watching, intrigued.  
  
-----  
  
A few hours later, Chiba Mamoru truly wanted to bang his head against a brick wall until he would happily fall into unconsciousness.  
  
His day may have started out bad enough, but it had somehow managed to get worse with each passing moment. Not only had he been late for class, but he had gotten a very long lecture from his newly returned professor. Apparently, he was astounded that a young man with his potential would be late for a test. He was very disappointed in Mamoru, and he certainly hoped that he would make it up by a perfect test score.  
  
A few minutes later, a boy who was always late walked in. He hadn't even earned a reprimanding glare from the professor.  
  
Again, Mamoru wished that murder was legal in some cases.  
  
Mamoru had taken his test, and had been the first to finish. As it turned out, he had somehow managed to retain all of the information over the past two weeks. He strode up to the teacher's desk confidently and handed his professor the test with an air of arrogance that most people would have choked on. Mamoru went back to his desk and began to collect his things, as one could leave the room after they had finished their test.  
  
He had almost been out of the room when the teacher announced that he had gotten every question on the diagrams wrong...  
  
And that they were worth half of the test.  
  
Mamoru had promptly left the classroom, wondering how he could have possibly forgotten to look the diagrams over... And take the test without even realizing that he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.  
  
He decided that it was the result of skipping his morning coffee.  
  
Thus, Mamoru quickly swung by a little coffee shop conveniently located near the campus and drank as much caffeine as possible. He needed to wake up and try to make this day seem less harrowing. When he had finished his coffee, burning the roof of his mouth several times in the process of drinking it, he had gone to his British Literature class, fully prepared to turn in his brilliant paper and receive the 'A' he knew he deserved after researching the Bronte sisters for well over a month. He had opened his briefcase, and looked around for the disc that contained the neatly typed, twenty page monstrosity...  
  
Only to discover it wasn't there.  
  
Now Mamoru was dragging himself down the streets of Tokyo, swearing like a sailor and giving dirty looks to any blonde teenage girl that walked by. After all, she was the one who had started it all. Despite the disaster with his alarm clock,  
everything would have been perfectly all right had it not been for her. He would have made it to class on time, he wouldn't have been upset while he was taking his test, and he wouldn't have lost his paper in the street. It was all her fault.  
  
"Poison." Mamoru growled to himself. "A poison that will ensure that she dies slowly and painfully. One that cannot be detected and has no antidote. Hell, I think I'll go to the lab right now and whip one up just for her."  
  
It had been a very long day.  
  
At that exact moment, he heard a very familiar voice behind him, and it seemed that all of the trespasses against him would be avenged.  
  
"Oh Naru, my mom's going to kill me when she sees this test!"  
  
Mamoru stopped in his tracks at the sound of the young, whiny voice. His heart stopped. He broke out into a sweat. His eyes now held a murderous glare that caused a small child to run away from him, screaming.  
  
"Oh, there is a God..." Mamoru hissed to himself. "And he is vengeful."  
  
-----  
  
"Oh Naru, my mom's going to kill me when she sees this test!" Usagi moaned,  
holding up the piece of paper in front of her face, the huge red thirty staring at her in the face as it were alive. She groaned and said, "She said if I flunked another test she'd kick me out of the house!"  
  
Her red-headed companion waved her hand dismissively and said, "Oh Usagi, you know she doesn't really mean it. She was just exaggerating again! Don't you remember that time she said she'd throw the television out the window if she ever caught you staying up late to watch it again?"  
  
"Well yes..."  
  
"And the time she said she'd burn all your manga if she ever caught you reading it when you said you studying for a test?"  
  
"She did say that..."  
  
"And the time she said she'd throw you out of the car on your last family vacation after you hit your brother?"  
  
"Uh Naru..."  
  
"And the time--"  
  
"Okay!" Usagi shouted loudly. "I get the point! I don't need you reminding me of all of my shortcomings."  
  
Naru smiled nervously and said, "Sorry Usagi. You know I didn't mean it..."  
Suddenly, her face brightened. She put her hand on Usagi's shoulder and said,  
"Hey! I have just the thing that will cheer you up! My mom is having a huge jewelry sale today to get rid of some of the old merchandise! Diamonds aren't really in this season, so we have a bunch that she wants to get rid of. I mean, I know you can't buy anything, but--"  
  
"Diamonds?"  
  
Usagi stopped in her tracks so suddenly she may as well have run into a wall.  
Then her crystal blue eyes took on a rather unnatural, frightening gleam. Naru could have sworn that she spotted the tiniest trace of drool trailing out from the corner of Usagi's mouth. The red-head was beginning to wonder if maybe this had been a bad thing to mention.  
  
"Err... Yes... Usagi, are you feeling all right?"  
  
"Diamonds..."  
  
Then, out of the blue, Usagi snapped out of her stupor, leaping upwards with an exuberant squeal. She continued bouncing up and down before squeaking, "Diamonds!  
I love diamonds! I wonder what I would have to do to convince Daddy to buy me one..."  
  
Naru gave her best friend a sobering look, which of course Usagi didn't notice in her joyous reverie. Naru didn't have to say a word. All it took to get Usagi's attention was to snatch the test out of her hand and shove it forcefully in her face. The blonde immediately stopped imitating her name sake and was silent for a moment.  
  
After that she let out a growl that would have been more suited to someone named Okami as it was definitely reminiscent of a wolf.  
  
Naru gulped and backed away, no longer needing to hold the failing grade before Usagi. She had taken it from Naru and was now proceeding to crumple it into the most emotionally packed ball possible. "Stupid, ridiculous piece of... Hmph!"  
  
With that, Usagi tossed the test over her shoulder... And was rather surprised when she heard an indignant squawk from behind her. She blinked, turning around to apologize to whomever she had unintentionally hit...  
  
"Oh!" Usagi cried, flushing slightly. She bowed several times in succession and deeply. She was quite sure she was going to have back problems for the rest of her life because of it. "I am really very sorry about that! I didn't mean to hit you!"  
  
Mamoru glared at her darkly as he inspected the paper. He was already well aware of the mark that she had received on her test, but he pretended to be unaware of what awaited him. He didn't pay her incessant apologies any mind. She had obviously failed to recognize him. Perhaps if she had and apologized for running him over this morning as well, he would have forgiven her... Though that was unlikely. The damage was done. There was no going back. And he was quite sure that after all of this, he was entitled to a little revenge.  
  
"A thirty? Wow, I didn't think anyone was that ignorant."  
  
And that revenge would be sweet.  
  
Usagi instantly stopped in mid-bow (and in a rather uncomfortable place). She choked on the air and hovered there for just a moment. Then she straightened up faster than the average human's eye could catch. She was now at her full height of 4'11'' and yelling, "What did you say?"  
  
Mamoru raised an eyebrow coolly, trying not to smirk. "And hard of hearing?  
Pity."  
  
Usagi snarled and ripped the test from his hands, crumpling it once more and making sure that it ended up in the proper trash receptacle. She glanced back at Mamoru, embittered by his comments and added, "Come Naru. There are certain people on this earth not worth our time."  
  
"I should say not," Mamoru said snippily, smirking this time to make sure that his meaning was very clear. "Odango Atama."  
  
Mamoru couldn't help but smile at that. He liked that name. He commended himself on thinking of it.  
  
"What?" Usagi shouted irately. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Your hair," Mamoru quipped. "It looks like you have two buns on the sides of your head."  
  
Usagi narrowed her eyes darkly. She made a move to roll up one of her sleeves,  
just for the effect, until she remembered that her uniform top had short sleeves.  
It was seasonably warm after all. She wasn't entirely sure how else she could look intimidating. She forgot about the effort altogether and continued. "And what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Well, I figure if you have buns outside of your head, you must have dough inside," Mamoru rationalized, rather enjoying the outraged look on the blonde's face... As well as the snicker that came from her companion. He shrugged,  
feigning innocence. "The test score would make a lot more sense that way."  
  
Usagi stood there for a long moment, sputtering and gesturing heatedly. She looked as if she might pursue the matter, but something made her decide against it. Mamoru suspected that it had something to do with the jewelry sale her friend had been talking about earlier. She added another 'hmph' before spinning on her heel and dragging Naru away. All the while, her nose was in the air in a rather haughty manner. She made a very big show of ignoring Mamoru's presence.  
  
Mamoru chuckled to himself, pulling his sunglasses out of his jacket pocket.  
Granted, he had wanted to exact just a little more revenge on the blonde, but he supposed it was not to be. Now he felt that the score was settled, the playing field level, and quite secure in the fact that he would never have to deal with annoying blondes ever again.  
  
He slipped on his sunglasses, feeling quite smug indeed. Mamoru nodded and then prepared to continue on the trek back to his apartment. He was done with classes for the day, but he still had to get the super to let him into his humble abode.  
He was going to need his keys sometime soon. He stepped to the side to be about his way... When he accidentally bumped into someone... He turned to see who it was and barely managed to contain a howl of righteous indignation.  
  
It was a teenage blonde.  
  
Mamoru was still very sure that there was a God. He simply was not fond of him.  
  
Still, this girl had not done anything… yet... She was not even wearing the same uniform as the rabbit. He was fairly sure that she was not in anyway associated with Odango Atama. That meant that he did not have to worry about being publicly admonished for being a nasty, obnoxious pervert or some such. With that in mind,  
Mamoru spoke to her with very little hesitation. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."  
  
Mamoru was a little taken aback the blonde stared at him with light blue eyes,  
looking more than a little surprised... and like she recognized him. Mamoru swept his eyes over her, noting that her hair was about the same length as Odango Atama's and that she looked quite athletic. But what was most striking was the gaudy red bow she was wearing.  
  
He felt like he had seen her somewhere, but he couldn't place it.  
  
"Pardon me," Mamoru began, feeling unsure of himself. "But have we met?"  
  
It was then that she smiled at him. He couldn't suppress the shiver that overcame him. Her smile seemed too brilliant to be real, yet he knew it was genuine. It reached her eyes, but they were not bright enough to match the rest of her expression. In spite of her youth, she looked older than she should have – as if she had seen too much. It disturbed him for many reasons that he could not articulate... But mostly because he had even realized that about her.  
  
"Perhaps," she voiced with a cool shrug. "But I highly doubt it."  
  
Mamoru narrowed his eyes. He was not convinced. "Are you sure of that?"  
  
"Quite," she said, still smiling. Then that gleeful look seemed to fade into something much more serious though her grin remained. "However, may I offer you one piece of advice?"  
  
Mamoru was a little put off. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. It wasn't every day that random strangers, not to mention very young ones, offered him advice out of nowhere. Then again, this certainly was not a typical day.  
Thankfully, he did not have time to answer her query.  
  
"Watch out for cats."  
  
With that, she winked at him and then continued on her merry way with a slight spring in her step, effectively ending the conversation.  
  
Mamoru stared after her for a good five minutes, even after she had turned the corner. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but she had given him the shivers.  
And not in a good way. There had been something very... dangerous about her. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.  
  
"Why are teenagers so weird?"  
  
But then he'd always been a little paranoid.  
  
He was then on his way, muttering to himself irritably about stupid, cryptic blondes, and he was sure he had never been that weird as a teenager. Had one who knew that Mamoru was a little paranoid been watching, they would have been quite perplexed. One would have that that Mamoru would have actually listened to the strange girl, but he didn't even notice the black cat that was hot on his heels.  
  
-----  
  
Meanwhile, Queen Beryl was growing restless.  
  
"Jadeite."  
  
No sooner had Beryl spoken the word than he appeared before her, already bowing.  
His blonde hair was mussed and there were dark circles under his eyes. He had been up late taking care of her orders. She smiled, both amused and relieved by his obvious discomfort.  
  
"Rise."  
  
Jadeite did as he was told, standing just as tall and proud as ever in spite of the fatigue. Queen Beryl was impressed, but she did not show it in her features or impart it onto him. It was a fleeting feeling. She would have forgotten it had even occurred within the hour no doubt. "I trust that you have already come up with a plan to gather energy for our rise?"  
  
"Yes, Queen Beryl," Jadeite responded automatically, bowing his head slightly as protocol dictated. Then he raised his eyes again, looking the woman directly in the eyes. "I have decided that the best way to collect energy is to give a number of humans some kind of energy stealing device. It will activate at the same time,  
giving the Dark Kingdom a great amount of energy at once. This will be more efficient than just taking it from one person."  
  
Beryl nodded, though he could sense that her patience was wearing thin. "Go on."  
  
Jadeite hastened to say, "Yes. I sent a scout to Tokyo earlier today, and she happened upon a jewelry shop advertising a sale. She came back to me with the report, and I told her to take the woman hostage and assume her form. We will make the humans' precious stones even less valuable, attracting more of them.  
Then, at a certain time tonight, I will activate them and gather energy for the Dark Kingdom."  
  
Beryl narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "Are you certain that this place did not contain the Ginzuishou?"  
  
"It was one of the first places we checked," Jadeite said honestly. "But I checked again to be certain. There was no sign of the crystal."  
  
Beryl frowned, annoyed, but overall impressed with his efforts and satisfied with the plan. After a few tense seconds on Jadeite's part, she nodded, signifying her approval. "That will do, Jadeite. I agree. That should acquire us a great deal of energy."  
  
Jadeite's posture relaxed ever so slightly.  
  
"But I have one question."  
  
He straightened once more, wincing with the effort. He really was not good at pulling all nighters. "Yes, your highness?"  
  
Beryl paused, considering her question for a moment, before saying, "How certain are you that your plan will succeed?"  
  
Jadeite smiled smugly. This was one thing he was sure of.  
  
"I am one hundred percent positive that this mission will be a success, Queen Beryl. Nothing could possibly go wrong."  
  
From the shadows, three other men had varying reactions of disbelief and disappointment... Even disgust at the other man's arrogance. But the youngest among them summed up all of their feelings in one very simple and rather clichéd statement.  
  
"Famous last words."  
  
-----  
  
"Pretty!"  
  
Usagi stared, transfixed at the array of jewelry before her, completely oblivious to the rest of the crowd fighting to get to the display case behind her. As far as Usagi was concerned, the cursing and yelling of desperate women trying to get their hands on some cheap, quality jewelry was actually a solo violin playing "Meditation from Thais." Usagi had been in the Osa-P Jewelry Shop on more than one occasion... But never had Usagi seen such a glittering field in the display case. It was filled with precious, clear gems that any woman in her right mind would adore. It was baffling to think that this sale was going on because Mrs.  
Osaka had been unable to sell most of her diamond encrusted merchandise. Then again, if one could afford to buy jewelry like this, one had to keep up with the trends. If diamonds were out, they were out. That was that, and it was that much better for her and the other middle class schleps that filled the store.  
  
But Usagi wasn't thinking about that. As a matter of fact, she wasn't thinking much of anything. The glint off of the gems laid out before her was hypnotic.  
There was no room for thought in her mind that was too full of rings and necklaces and bracelets and watches and other such accessories. The one that that did manage to make its way into her thoughts was this:  
  
If this was not what heaven looked like, all crystalline and shimmering, Usagi did not want to go there... And if everything wasn't marked down by eighty percent,  
Usagi really didn't want to go there.  
  
"So pretty..." Usagi mused. "Yet so inexpensive."  
  
While Usagi and the other customers, both regular patrons and walk ins, were staring at the merchandise and drooling over the prices, Naru was appalled. She had known that her mother was going to have a big sale. However, Naru had not expected her mother to say that everything in the store was literally eighty percent off. Her mother was of sound mind and body. She was also a top notch businesswoman. This sale was just lunacy.  
  
Naru was currently trying to make her way through the throng of people in search of her mother, but she was having quite a bit of trouble. Unfortunately, most of the women in the world who wanted diamonds in the first place were stubborn, old,  
fat women. And being rather skinny herself, Naru was constantly getting locked between them. Not to mention, she had no idea where her mother was in all of this commotion...  
  
"Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds! All eighty percent off! One day only!"  
  
Naru growled at the familiar voice coming over the megaphone. The reaction was not only because the reminder of the outrageous sale, but at the direction it was coming from... It was as far away from Naru's position as humanly possible.  
  
"Typical..." Naru grumbled as she yanked her arm out from the old lady sandwich.  
  
"Yes ladies!" Naru's mother shouted into the megaphone, which was really overkill in Naru's opinion. "You too can own some of the finest diamonds in the Juuban District! All because of our big, spectacular sale going on today only! All merchandise is eighty percent off!"  
  
This and other variations of the phrase went on for another excruciating five minutes as Naru clawed her way to the front of the store. The red head took a very large gulp of air the minute she hit the street. Then she gave her mother a very dark look, which Mrs. Osaka didn't notice because she was too busy having a conversation with another woman about the sale... While speaking into the megaphone.  
  
"Is everything really that inexpensive?" the woman asked, looking at the store with a mixed expression of skepticism and greed.  
  
"Yes, you too can own a diamond necklace for eighty percent off its original price! And--"  
  
"Oh, give me that!" Naru cried in exasperation, yanking the megaphone out of her mother's hands. She couldn't help but roll her eyes while the other woman dashed into the store. She shook her head and turned back to the older woman who was staring at her with a blank expression on her face. "Mother, what do you think you're doing?"  
  
Naru's mother continued staring at her blankly for a few more seconds. Naru couldn't quite figure out why, but it made her feel ill at ease. It was almost like Mrs. Osaka didn't recognize her own daughter... However, as quickly as the fear had set in, it fled as she blinked and a wide grin spread across her face.  
"Naru! I didn't realize how late it was! How was school?"  
  
The girl raised an eyebrow at her mother's obvious attempt to change the subject.  
She would have expected better from an adult, but then maybe she had expected too much. "It doesn't matter right now. I want to know what's going on. You've never had a sale like this before!"  
  
Mrs. Osaka stared at her again for a moment, like she was trying to figure out how to respond. Naru was quite tempted to tell the woman that she wasn't asking her a question about Quantum Physics, but she held her tongue. Eventually, her mother shrugged, saying, "I know my dear, but I just woke up this morning and decided that it was time I did... And look at all the business we're getting!"  
  
"Look at all the profit we're losing!" Naru snapped.  
  
Her mother's face darkened instantly as she snatched the megaphone back from Naru,  
taking her off guard. She backed away on instinct, drawing her hand back as if it had been scorched. "Mom?"  
  
"Don't you take that tone with me young lady," Mrs. Osaka scolded. "Now, where was I?"  
  
Naru eyed her mother suspiciously, more than a little shocked at her peculiar behavior. Mrs. Osaka had been acting a bit strange as she had gotten older, but that was to be expected. This on the other hand had come out of nowhere.  
  
The fear from earlier intensified.  
  
"I'm going to go talk to Usagi," Naru mumbled, preparing to turn and leave.  
  
However, three seconds after Naru had said that, Mrs. Osaka gasped and said, "Oh,  
Usagi's here? Your friend from school?"  
  
Naru furrowed her brow and said, "Yes... You know, she's been my friend since kindergarten..."  
  
"Oh, I must go see her!" And with that, Mrs. Osaka leapt into the steadily growing crowd of women in the store, leaving her daughter alone.  
  
It didn't take very long for Mrs. Osaka to find Usagi. No sooner had she stepped into the store did she hear a high-pitched squeal, uncharacteristic of the other women in the shop. On the hand, it was very typical of a hypersensitive teenager Naturally, Mrs. Osaka followed the noise up to the front counter, somehow moving through the sea of people without getting stuck once. When she found the girl,  
Usagi's face was pressed up against the glass, her eyes amazingly wide.  
  
"Did you find something you like, Usagi?" the woman asked smoothly.  
  
Usagi blinked and straightened at the sudden address. Then she saw who it was and smiled cheerfully, bowing out of respect. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Osaka."  
  
"Good afternoon," Mrs. Osaka said in return, before repeating, "Did you find something?"  
  
Usagi blushed slightly, not really knowing how to reply. After all, she couldn't the bauble she had recently fallen in love with even with the discount.  
Mentioning it to the store owner, who just happened to be her best friend's mother, didn't seem ethically right.  
  
"Tell me! You must have found something," Naru's mother pressed.  
  
Usagi seemed to consider it for a few more seconds before giving the woman a perky nod and bouncing back over to the display case, pointing to a particular piece.  
The older woman leaned in and took a look... and was impressed with the girl's choice.  
  
The ring was definitely exquisite. It was fashioned from brilliantly polished fourteen karat white gold. The band itself was simple enough, but then the metal transformed at the top. The gold had been manipulated to form a rose in full bloom. It was extremely detailed, complete with indentations in the metal to represent the veins in the petals. And while that was amazing in and of itself,  
the enormously eye-catching aspect about the ring was the exquisite, perfect white pearl in the rose's center, surrounded by diamonds almost too tiny to see. Yet it added just the right amount of drama to make the ring a little more than just another piece of jewelry.  
  
"That is a magnificent ring..." Mrs. Osaka said, impressed with its craftsmanship.  
"Do you want it?"  
  
"You have no idea," Usagi said, her voice coming out in what sounded very close to a whine.  
  
Mrs. Osaka blinked at the tone. "What's the matter? If you want it, why don't you--"  
  
"Because I have no money!" Usagi wailed tragically, falling forward on the glass,  
dirtying it even more than she had managed to before. "I spent the last of my allowance at the arcade, and there is no way that papa would agree to buy me this after he sees my test. Well, I did actually throw it out, but he'll still know!  
Because Mama always knows just by looking at me – I swear you mothers are psychic or something – and she'll tell him and then I'll never ever get a pretty ring or a necklace or anything ever again!"  
  
What happened next could only be described as the most painful experience most of the women in the vicinity of Osa-P Jewelry Shop would ever have to endure. For at that moment, Usagi chose to let loose an excruciatingly high pitched shriek that was more than capable of shattering the glass display cases. As the wails continued, every single woman in that store covered her ears, cringing at the racket. Even the oldest in the crowd who normally couldn't hear sounds quite that high pitched winced and turned off their hearing aids. After a few more moments of the nails-on-chalkboard-esque screech, several women dropped their merchandise and fled.  
  
Mrs. Osaka covered her own ears, seeming to be in much more pain than the other women, possibly due to proximity. She knew she couldn't let this go on much longer. She grabbed Usagi by the shoulders and shouted, "What if I gave you the ring for free?!"  
  
Usagi immediately stopped crying. She blinked. She stared. She blinked again.  
  
Then she squealed, which caused a few residual winces.  
  
The store owner quickly fished the ring from the display case in order to prevent anymore high-pitched shouts. Usagi was once again leaping up and down in a way that was comparable to a rabbit, but thankfully she only squealed once more.  
Perhaps her throat hurt nearly as much as their ears did.  
  
A few moments later, Mrs. Osaka was holding out the ring in front of her, glad to have stopped her crying. "There you are Usagi. Consider it your birthday present for the next five years."  
  
"Oh!" Usagi gasped, carefully taking the ring from the older woman's hands as many people treated a newborn baby, afraid it might break. She stared at it,  
absolutely mesmerized by the wondrous accessory that was now not only in her hands but in her possession. It was unthinkable. It was impossible. And yet, there it was. And here it was, happening to her. With that in mind, there was really only one thing she could do.  
  
Throw her arms around Mrs. Osaka and thank her profusely...  
  
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,  
thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..."  
  
Multiple times.  
  
"Mother!"  
  
Naru stormed up to the pair, gaping in utter disbelief at the display. She had been wondering if something was wrong with her mother just moments before... Now she was sure of it. Her mother had gone off the deep end. And no, it wasn't just the menopause. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just give away merchandise!"  
  
Usagi pouted, her shoulders slumping as she turned to face her friend. "But Naru..."  
  
"And how could you accept it?" Naru continued, scandalized. "Honestly, Usagi sometimes you are so immature! That ring costs money. You can't just take it like that!"  
  
Usagi sighed pitifully and whined, "But Naru... I've had such a horrible day! I mean, I got a bad grade on my test and then that guy made fun of me. He gave me that horrible nickname!"  
  
Naru narrowed her eyes and said, "It doesn't give you the right to accept such a gift!"  
  
Mrs. Osaka intervened, holding up her hands in a futile attempt to placate her daughter. "Now Naru, there's no need to get upset with Usagi... I gave her the ring."  
  
"I'm not saying that was right either," Naru said sternly. "Mother, first you hold this crazy sale, and now you're giving it away for free?! What are you thinking?  
  
Unfortunately for Naru, her mother, and Usagi, a hush had just happened to fall over the patrons in the store at the exact same moment that Naru said the word 'free.' Thus, every woman in the store heard that word, uttered only in dreams for most. They looked in the direction of where it was said like a cat searching for its prey. It was easy enough to recognize Mrs. Osaka as the owner of the store... It was really only logical that they considered it an official announcement in spite of the lack of a megaphone.  
  
"Did she say free?"  
  
"Everything's for free?"  
  
"I don't have to pay for this stuff?"  
  
"Let me through!"  
  
"Give me that!"  
  
"That's mine!"  
  
"Move it!"  
  
"I want it all!"  
  
And with that everyone in the tiny shop suddenly swarmed forward towards the front. If it had been compact before, it was even more so now. All of the women struggled to get through to see if they had in fact heard correctly or something along those lines. A few seconds later, Usagi crawled out between someone's legs,  
ring and schoolbooks in hand. She glanced back for a moment to see how the Osakas were doing in the mass of customers, but she could no longer pick out their trademark red hair. She sighed, a little depressed at Naru's reaction...  
  
Then she saw the ring and decided that Naru would forgive her eventually... Usagi slipped it on her finger, giggled again and skipped happily out of the store.  
  
That left Mrs. Osaka to contend with the hysterical customers, trying to assure them that they had heard wrong, shouting into the megaphone that she had retrieved from her daughter.  
  
"I'm sorry, ladies, but the merchandise is not for free. However, keep in mind that Osa-P Jewelry Shop is offering you the lowest prices on the highest quality jewelry in town! Come and get it now! We're closing in a few hours!"  
  
Naru just stared at the woman in disbelief... This was not the shrewd business woman that she knew. This was not the mother she knew.  
  
"Mama..."  
  
-----  
  
It was black. And the black thing was everywhere, encroaching on his consciousness. It moved like a living, breathing thing. It was chaotic, parts of it twisting and looping around while others moved in sharp, jagged lines and others still in a straight line. It was one thing made up of many parts. It had been far away at first, just on the edge of his vision. But it had intruded slowly like a panther attacking him, ready to devour. It had not overtaken him.  
Not yet. But he knew that was what it wanted. And that terrified him more than anything else in the world because he knew it, but he didn't know how he knew it.  
  
It was a familiar fear and for a minute it he could of sworn he saw the silhouette of a girl with a big red bow and mysterious smile with eyes that had seen too much. Then it became that of a witch out of his nightmares, hair standing straight on end towards the heavens like fire, an accusing finger pointing at the gods and cursing them for their transgressions. Then it was another girl whose features were blurred and unclear, but he knew her from more than one lifetime.  
  
He thought maybe the black thing was making him see things until he saw the tiniest point of impossibly vivid light piercing through its heart. No, not its heart. That was wrong. This thing didn't have a heart. It didn't have a consciousness. It just was. And whatever it was it was evil. He didn't like to use that word because it was something that should only be used in bad anime for little kids, but there wasn't any other word to say what the black thing was. It was evil.  
  
But the light wasn't evil. The light was good. It was pure. It was powerful.  
And dare he say it, it was magical. And it was growing exponentially, radiating more and more as it sliced the black thing in half from the center out. And then the black that had filled his vision turned to white. It was too bright,  
impossible for him to look at. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't and he didn't know why. He had to keep looking at it and that was when he figured out that the light was not white but silver. He could just barely tell the difference, but it was just another one of those things that he knew in the bottom of his heart.  
  
This time it wasn't scary. He felt warm. Comforted. Loved. Yes, he felt loved.  
And he felt like he knew why but he couldn't form the thoughts fast enough. It slipped away like sand before he could grasp it.  
  
Then in the white, no silver, he saw a girl. He knew it was a girl and she was in white. He saw shimmering gold coming off of her forehead and trailing down to the ground if there was any ground for her to stand on. He could see her eyes though.  
They were as clear as crystal. At first he noticed that they were the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen and he thought that he would have liked nothing better than to stare at them from now into infinity.  
  
But he saw how sad they were. Desperate. Anguished. In pain. Horribly lonely.  
He didn't want to look into those eyes that seemed pleading and accusing anymore.  
He wanted to look away but he couldn't move. He wasn't sure how to.  
  
He heard a voice and even though her lips weren't moving, he knew that it was her voice. It was incredibly loud, reverberating off of the walls of his consciousness and making his own heart vibrate within his chest. She was asking him for something. She wanted him to do something. Find something? But even though she was loud he couldn't hear her. He couldn't figure out what it was she was trying to say. He tried to scream to tell her that he didn't understand but his voice failed him.  
  
She turned away from him, disappointed. Betrayed. He had betrayed her. Not just now but before. He had done something horribly wrong before. He had failed her before. But he didn't know when before was. He kept trying to yell, but she didn't hear him. Then the blackness raged back into view as the car plummeted off the cliff and into oblivion.  
  
His voice finally worked as his eyes flew open.  
  
"Princess!" Mamoru shouted at top of voice, his throat raw and dry even though he knew he had not said one word while he slept. He hadn't said a word in the dream. That killed him inside for reasons he couldn't discern.  
  
Mamoru sat there for a few minutes, his back ramrod straight. He was soaked to the bone with his own sweat. He could barely catch his breath. For a minute he thought maybe he was dying or having an asthma attack. Then he realized that his heart was pounding like an African war drum in his chest. Somehow that was a morbid comfort to him. He was freezing, shivering with the cold in spite of the warm weather and the blankets on top of him. His eyes were wide and burning,  
water leaking from them. It wasn't so much that he was upset, but he hadn't even dared to blink in the five minutes that he had been awake.  
  
He finally did shut his eyes for a minute and that stung even more than before.  
He rubbed the aching organs, taking deeper breaths to try and soothe his own irrational fear. At long last, he could breathe again.  
  
"That dream again..." Mamoru whispered hoarsely.  
  
Yes, it had been that dream again... That dream with the white princess. She had never identified herself as such. But he had started having the dreams when he was a very little boy; six as a matter of fact. Any small child would automatically label a beautiful (or at least presumed to be beautiful since he had never actually seen her face) dream girl a princess. He had the dreams for several years earlier in his life and it had always been the same. The background changed from time to time... Sometimes she was standing in front of what looked eerily like the Taj Mahal but it seemed a lot grander than even that. Sometimes she stood in a sea of fog and he could barely even make out her trademark gold hair. And sometimes she was standing on a lake, walking on the water or hovering just above it, staring at a crescent moon that was too close to her to be real.  
But other than that, nothing else changed. She always looked at him with those same despairing eyes. She always asked him for help. He never heard her.  
  
The dreams had greatly upset him as a child. He had the same dream night after night for nearly three years before he finally told one of his few friends in the orphanage about it. He really should have known better than to impart this detail of his life onto that particular friend as he had never been able to keep a secret even if his life depended on it. He had promptly informed one of the caretakers,  
not forgetting to mention how much it distressed Mamoru. She had promptly used what little resources they had to find a good but relatively inexpensive child psychologist. It took another year and a half, but he had stopped having the dreams.  
  
Now they had come back, and he didn't know why.  
  
But the most unsettling part of this was that the dream had been different. The black thing that had terrified him so much he had bitten his tongue in his sleep had not been there before.  
  
But that was wrong. It had been there in the last year he had seen the dream. It hovered just on the edges of the vision, just like it had today. But it had never moved. It was stationary. It was practically... It had been dead. For whatever reason now it had tried to overtake him and his princess... And he didn't know why that was either.  
  
After all of these years, why was he having that dream again? He couldn't say that he had forgotten it. He remembered his princess after all this time. She certainly wasn't at the forefront of his mind at every waking or slumbering moment. She just happened to be a part of his childhood that he reflected on every now and again. It was one of the few things from his younger years that he let himself think about. But in spite of the memories, the dream had not returned.  
  
Until tonight.  
  
"Why?" Mamoru whispered again. "Why now after all this time?"  
  
Then he heard somebody clear their throat.  
  
He blinked, looking around frantically. He didn't live with anyone. No one but the super had a key, and it wasn't like he was going to randomly come into his apartment. The only other possible explanation was a burglar. But what burglar announced their presence?  
  
"Over here," said a distinctly female voice with a long suffering sigh.  
  
Mamoru's eyes flitted over to the window where he saw the sun almost halfway hidden by the horizon. The light filtered in more intensely than it did in the morning thanks to the direction his apartment faced. He flinched slightly at the direct light... Then he noticed a silhouette sitting in the window. He couldn't tell much about her, save that whoever she was had a habit of flicking her tail back and forth.  
  
Mamoru blinked. Several times in succession.  
  
Her tail?  
  
The shadow bounded forward with a scoff and bounded onto his bed. She didn't shake the bed much since she wasn't all that heavy to begin with. His eyes followed her and he watched in shock as she padded towards him on four furry little paws and stared up at him with an impatient, tawny gaze. Her whiskers twitched several times. He got the impression that if she could balance well enough, she would have been tapping one of her hindquarters and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
This cat was very annoyed with him.  
  
Mamoru eyed the cat apprehensively, tilting his head slightly. He was running into way too many familiar people... Well, things lately. "You're that cat from earlier..." he muttered absently. "What are you doing here?" He snorted suddenly and added, "What's wrong with me? Talking to cats... What are you going to do?  
Answer back?"  
  
"That would be the polite thing to do now, wouldn't it?" she asked.  
  
He stared.  
  
She sighed in exasperation and sat down roughly. "This is going to take longer than I anticipated. Look--"  
  
"You can't talk."  
  
Now it was her turn to blink. If the cat had possessed eyebrows, she would arched one at that particular moment. "Really? Funny because my mouth is moving and words are coming out of it. Is that not the general definition of talking?"  
  
"No," Mamoru said, shaking his head. "I mean you can't talk. It is physiologically impossible for a cat to talk. At least like a human being. I don't know about your own language, but you can't speak Japanese. I know. I'm going to be a doctor."  
  
Mamoru belatedly realized that it was very strange for him to be lecturing a talking cat on how she couldn't speak, but he rationalized that he was going through one of two things. He was either still dreaming, which was entirely possible, or he was crazy. He supposed that was possible as well, but if that was the case this was quite possibly to fastest psychotic break in recent history.  
  
In any event, if the feline had been perturbed before, she was even more so now.  
She frowned rather effectively and kept right on talking. He didn't know why. He had just told her that she couldn't physically accomplish the task. It was foolish to keep fighting that unquestionable fact in his opinion.  
  
"Chiba Mamoru, I am talking to you, physical impossibility or not. And get used to it because I don't often remain silent." She paused and muttered something under her breath. He wasn't sure if he had heard right, but he could have sworn she said (not that he was admitting she could talk of course) that there was a certain white cat who suffered from the same problem to a greater degree.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Never mind," the cast said hurriedly. "Anyway, just... consider me an anomaly.  
Truth be told, I suppose I am one anyway."  
  
"But I'm telling you, it's impossible--"  
  
"Mamoru," she said sternly. "Put away the scientist in you for a moment and just listen. I can't say that this is going to make sense exactly, but... You'll understand when I'm done."  
  
Mamoru was still quite convinced that he was right and he had to be dreaming and/or hallucinating. Maybe he was overworked or something. But if that was the case, then there was really no harm in allowing the cat to defy the laws of nature for a little while. He would wake up in a few minutes anyway and not remember a thing. Or he'd have a new imaginary pet. Either way, he was still groggy and willing to go along with this.  
  
"All right," the cat said, perking up slightly. "My name is Luna, and I am one of the last remaining defenders of an ancient era. You're one of them too, Mamoru.  
I wouldn't have realized it if you hadn't removed the bandages earlier. I've been searching for months, and you are the first one I found. I don't think it's a coincidence that I found you now. I have a feeling that you're going to be needed very soon...  
  
"But I'm getting ahead of myself. You and I are the only active defenders still around, but there are more that we need to find. I need you to help me find them and to fight against the enemy."  
  
Mamoru stared at her for a moment. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he was actually following this line of discussion. He was equally baffled when he actually said, "But what am I defending?"  
  
"You are protecting the Moon Kingdom, a thousand year old civilization. It is your task to protect it and to find the other defenders: the Sailor Senshi,  
guardians of the Silver Millennium. When the warriors convene, then and only then will the true object of the search reveal herself... The Princess of the Moon."  
  
-----  
  
"It's not fair," Usagi stated in such a way that one would have thought she had just answered a math problem correctly. Her words were not up for dispute. And to Tsukino Usagi, being forced to walk all the way to the Osa-P Jewelry Shop to return a ring that had been given to her by the owner was quite possible the most unfair grievance she had ever had to endure.  
  
Usagi had arrived home shortly after leaving Naru and her mother to their own devices. She had been floating on Cloud 9 by the time she got there, thus she didn't immediately notice the look her mother was giving her. As a matter of fact, she had skipped merrily past Ikuko, who was livid as usual. A few moments later, Usagi was ripped from heaven, her balloon was burst, and she was forced to face reality.  
  
Unfortunately, Usagi had not counted on her mother running into Umino, a nerdy boy from her class, at the market. She really should have considering the boy was practically stalking her and he was none too subtle about it. Frankly, he was neither discreet nor especially bright when it came to romance. Umino had somehow gotten the idea that the way to her heart was through her parents. Therefore, he had been sure to make friends with Ikuko and Kenji, "coincidentally" running into them just about every day. To make matters worse, Umino had a very annoying habit of talking. Bothersome that. But when Umino talked, it was a grueling task to either get him to stop talking altogether or to have him avoid sensitive subjects... Such as Usagi's grades. So naturally, every single time there was a big test that Usagi did not do well on, which just happened to be every test she had taken for the past two years, the blonde came home to one very angry mother. Umino would always open a conversation with how high he had scored.  
Which led to the inevitable query of how Usagi had done.  
  
Umino was also an incorrigible gossip who insisted on knowing everything there was to know about everyone he knew... including Usagi's grade point average. What's worse was that he saw no problem with telling Usagi's parents her scores.  
  
Today had been no different.  
  
Ikuko had immediately demanded to see the test, shouting something about how it couldn't possibly be true. No daughter of hers could get such a low score. And hadn't she studied for this test the night before? And did she need to get her a tutor? And where was the test? She had to see the test. She had to see the actual piece of paper before she accepted her daughter's grade.  
  
Usagi panicked.  
  
She knew she shouldn't have thrown the test away, but she was hoping that she could get away with it just this once. In retrospect, she should have known better. But anyway Usagi was now faced with the problem of somehow telling her mother that yes, her daughter was a failure and no, she did not wish to be executed for her misdeeds. Sadly, Usagi was unable to articulate a word of that.  
She sat there stammering for a good three minutes, wringing her hands and gesturing to try and get her point across.  
  
And then Ikuko saw the ring.  
  
The woman had let out a shriek that rivaled her own daughter's in terms of volume and pitch. She grabbed Usagi's wrist and demanded to know where she had gotten it. And if she had stolen it? And how could she have brought such shame on the family? And if she hadn't stolen the ring, where had she gotten the money for it?  
And had she stolen that to buy the ring? And why oh why couldn't she have a daughter that didn't spend all of her spare time letting her down?  
  
Well, Ikuko hadn't exactly said that, but that was the general impression Usagi had gotten. Once the older woman had actually managed to calm down, Usagi explained that Mrs. Osaka had given her the ring. Of course, Ikuko didn't believe her, and it took about fifteen minutes of promising and swearing on her grandmother's grave and her manga collection before Ikuko believed that her daughter had not stolen the ring. Then Usagi was forced to sit through a lecture about how she shouldn't have accepted such an expensive gift.  
  
After what felt like days trapped under Ikuko's chocolate brown glare, Usagi had reluctantly agreed to return the ring in order to avoid certain death and/or extra chores. The blonde had even conceded not to wear the bauble anymore... But only because she didn't want to get any more attached to the jewelry. Usagi left the house and after swinging by the arcade to talk to Motoki, the current love of her life, order a sundae, play a few video games, order another sundae, lose at the crane game, and get another sundae to go before Motoki finally kicked her out,  
she was on her way to the Osakas.  
  
Usagi reached in her pocket and fingered the ring for the hundredth time that evening. She let out a long sigh, whimpering quietly. It really wasn't fair.  
Mrs. Osaka had given her the ring! She couldn't understand why Naru and her mother had gotten so upset about it. It wasn't like she had robbed the woman or hypnotized her or something like that. She hadn't even wanted to tell her which ring she wanted. Mrs. Osaka had forced the information on her and then practically shoved the ring in her pocket!  
  
Okay, maybe she hadn't done that, but it was close enough. If the woman wanted to give away her merchandise, let her! It wasn't as if the Osakas would be lacking for money. The family was a lot wealthier than they appeared. Frankly,  
Usagi didn't understand why Naru didn't flaunt it more often, but then the girl had always been a little stranger than most.  
  
But regardless of their financial situation or the fact that Usagi would become a Reverse Indian Giver, she was returning the precious ring... And it wasn't fair.  
  
Usagi let out another woeful moan as she looked up, her eyes catching a brightly colored poster out of the corner of her eye. She stopped walking, gazing up at it enviously. It was a picture of a girl with long blonde hair in a short skirted sailor suit and a stylish red mask. She had a cocky smile on her lips and a glowing crescent on her forehead. It was none other than the mysterious heroine,  
Sailor V. Supposedly she was just a creation for a new anime franchise, but Umino had told her that there was some evidence that she had been active in London over the past year...  
  
"Sailor V..." Usagi sighed wistfully. "She's so cool. Fighting monsters and criminals with magic. Idolized by millions. She's even got her own anime!" She paused. "And I bet she has a lot of rings."  
  
With that, Usagi barely resisted the temptation to bang her head against the wall to distract herself from the pain of injustice and then went along her way.  
  
Five minutes later, Usagi arrived at the darkened jewelry shop. It was after hours, but Usagi knew from experience that the store would still be open while Mrs. Osaka was doing inventory in the back. Naru helped her most nights, and sometimes (when Ikuko had kicked her out of the house) Usagi would come by and pitch in. Usagi pulled the door open, surprised and a little scared at how dark and quiet the showroom was...  
  
She gulped loudly and was very glad that no one was around to see a fourteen year old acting like she was afraid of the dark...  
  
Then she realized that she was alone in the dark and she gulped louder.  
  
"Hello?" Usagi called out quietly, her voice trembling slightly. "Is anyone here?  
Mrs. Osaka? Naru? Are you home?" She pulled the ring out of her pocket, giving it one last wistful glance. She muttered something about unfair mothers before calling out again. "I came to return the ring... Mama wouldn't let me keep it.  
Hello? Where are you?"  
  
Just then, the grandfather clock struck eight o'clock, chiming to signify the hour... Very loudly. And since the store had been strangely silent up until that point, it took Usagi off guard. She yelped in fright, jumping a few feet in the air. She was so surprised that she dropped the ring.  
  
It rolled away from her... And started glowing along with the rest of the jewelry in the shop.  
  
-----  
  
Elsewhere, a little six year old was dancing around her room gleefully, singing along to the latest pop sensation. She didn't understand half of the lyrics and she was dreadfully off-key, but she neither noticed nor cared. In her mind, her voice was even prettier than the lady on the radio. And she would gladly tell that to anyone who asked. Or anyone who didn't ask to be honest. She jumped on the bed even though she knew full well that she wasn't supposed to. The radio was blasting in spite of her parents' multiple requests for her to turn it down, or better yet off. It was getting close to bed time. But she hadn't listened to them. Or maybe she hadn't been able to hear them. Either way, she was rebelling at an early age. Like her daddy always said, she was six going on sixteen.  
  
The little girl continued flitting about her pink and yellow room, blissfully unaware of the troubles in the world and completely innocent of all crime. Well,  
almost all crime. She had technically stolen something, but it wasn't like she wasn't going to give it back. But if her daddy came in and saw her with it,  
she was bound to get a spanking.  
  
She scrambled over to her mirror on the other side of the room, admiring the shining jewel pinned to her pink frilly nightgown. It was a dragonfly, and she had always liked bugs in spite of her typical affinity for pink and ballerinas.  
She fiddled with the brooch so that it caught the light at different parts on the dragonfly, shimmering more than anything she had ever seen before. The whole thing was covered in diamonds. But for the two big eyes on its head were two big pearls. It was by far the prettiest thing the six year old had ever seen.  
  
Of course, it wasn't hers. She bit her lip guiltily as she remembered sneaking into her grandmother's room earlier and filching it from her jewelry box. Her grandmother had shown her the new brooch the minute she came home from shopping.  
It wasn't the only brooch she had, but it was the only dragonfly brooch. And it was definitely the shiniest thing the old woman owned. She had several diamonds in her possession, but nothing like this!  
  
She had asked her grandmother if she could wear it, but the woman had forbidden it, claiming the little girl was bound to break it. She had pitched a fit. She had cried. She had thrown a tantrum or two. She even tossed her teddy bear in a pink tutu at the door to grandmother's room when she had retired for a nap,  
ignoring the girl's screams as always. But not before she mentioned to her son-in-law that he should stop spoiling the girl and give her a good spanking.  
  
The girl had calmed down when she heard those familiar words. She had never actually been spanked, but she had heard stories about it from her friends. She didn't want to find out how it felt. But even with that in mind, she had still ventured into her grandmother's room an hour later and stolen the pin. She had been locked up in her room for the past half hour, dancing to the music and admiring the pin.  
  
Her father knocked on the door. "Turn that down! Don't make me come in there!"  
  
The girl gasped, glancing wide-eyed at the door like it was the boogeyman or something. She knew she couldn't risk him coming in and finding her with the pin.  
She had promptly scrambled over the radio, calling out, "Yes Daddy!" She reached for the volume control.  
  
"This is WKRP, and it's eight o'clock in Tokyo! You know what that means..."  
  
The pin on the young girl's nightgown flashed.  
  
Actually, she didn't know what that meant, but she never got to find out. Her hand was poised over the volume button when she suddenly felt like she was about to fall asleep. She fell down almost immediately, unable to hold up her own weight. She clutched her stomach, wondering if this was like the stomach flu she had gotten the month before. But her stomach didn't hurt, and she didn't want to throw up. She just felt really tired and everything was getting blurry.  
  
"Daddy..." she croaked out quietly. "I think I'm sick again..."  
  
By the time her father had managed to find the key to her room, his daughter was passed out on the floor. The radio was still blasting pop songs at the top volume. A brown pigtail covered up any evidence of foul play.  
  
-----  
  
A young woman was walking along a shaded path in the park, arm in arm with the most perfect man in the universe as far as she was concerned. Well, he did have a number of faults that had aggravated her on many an occasion, but at the moment,  
she could forget about them. After all, how could she be in any way irritated with a man who had just dropped to one knee in the middle of a crowded restaurant and asked for her hand in marriage?  
  
She sighed happily, grasping his arm tightly and snuggling as they continued on their silent walk. She didn't know how long they had been walking like this,  
where they were going, or when they would stop. And frankly, she didn't care.  
She just wanted to be with this man, now and forever. They didn't need to go anywhere. They didn't need to do anything. They didn't need to say a word. They just had to be together.  
  
She smiled as she felt her boyfriend... her fiancé bend down and kiss her hair tenderly. He had been quite relieved when she had burst into tears in the restaurant, thrown her arms around him, and shouted yes at lest fifty-seven times.  
Apparently he had been quite concerned that she was going to say no. She couldn't think of why... They hadn't gotten into a fight in the past few weeks, a record for them. He hadn't done anything stupid as of late. It wasn't that dreaded time of the month. His mother hadn't mentioned how much she didn't like her son's choice romantic partner and tried to fix him up with one of her batty old friend's ugly, fat daughters recently... Well, not that she had heard anyway. So what was there to worry about?  
  
She decided that men were just an enigma that she would never understand.  
  
But then, even if his mother had been sitting right next to her, shrieking like a harpy at how her son deserved better and how she would disown him if he didn't take back the proposal right then and there, even if they hadn't been speaking for two weeks, and even if she had run out of Midol(TM), she would have said yes.  
True love conquers all and all that. Till death do them part. Sticking together through thick and thin. Forever and a day, eternity and beyond.  
  
Then again she would have said yes for the ring alone.  
  
Her grey eyes sparkled as she glanced back down at the glittering diamonds now adorning her left ring finger... The ring was strikingly superb. It was a silver band, as her fiancé knew that she thought gold was rather tacky. That would have been enough to maker her appreciate the piece and acknowledge that the man at her side wasn't a thoughtless boob after all. But it was so gorgeous that she could barely take her eyes off of it. In center was a perfectly formed marquise diamond that looked about as big as her thumbnail. On either side of that center gem were two large round diamonds fixed vertically into the ring. And further down on the band were three smaller diamonds on either side in a horizontal row. It had practically blinded her when he had flipped open the ring box with trembling hands. She had been tempted to ask how he had managed to afford it, but she decided against it. It was best not to spoil the romantic mood that he had created.  
  
She sighed happily, gazing up at the full moon above them. She couldn't remember the last time the night had been so clear. She would swear on a stack of Bibles that she could see every star in the Solar System from where they were standing.  
The park around them was completely silent. Nobody else was around. It was like they were the only people left on Earth.  
  
She looked up at her fiancé, grinning wickedly. He returned the smirk and slowly bent his head to meet hers. Her eyes fluttered closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, standing up on tiptoe. She left her eyes open just the tiniest bit to catch one more glimpse of the ring, just to make sure it really was there.  
Then she let herself slip into the embrace of darkness and her fiancé, tilting her head just slightly to the right...  
  
Her fianc's watch beeped loudly, letting them know that it was eight o'clock.  
  
The ring on her left hand flashed.  
  
She backed off suddenly, feeling like a sledgehammer had just wished a very unhappy hello to the side of her head. She heard her fiancé apologize for the interruption, but his voice sounded far away... And it was getting softer. Her eyes were still closed. She wanted to open them, but she couldn't. She swayed on her feet, whimpering quietly for her love. She felt her legs start to buckle.  
  
The last thing she felt before she slipped into total, impenetrable darkness was her fianc's strong arms wrapping around her. He called out to her, his voice cracking and ripping the silence of the night apart. He didn't know why or how,  
but she was too far away to hear him anymore.  
  
-----  
  
A woman was cooking a late dinner for her family somewhere in the Juuban district.  
Her two sons were at Cram School all afternoon, and her husband worked late hours to ensure that they received a good education in the finest schools. Not to mention, she often had a lot to do what with running errands, cleaning, visiting friends, and a plethora of other thing that housewives were wont to do. Hence, it was perfectly natural that she should be cooking a dinner late in the evening.  
  
But there was one thing different about tonight. She had gone shopping that day and happened to pass by a jewelry shop that was having a sale. Normally, she would not have dared to venture in there on her family's tight budget. In spite of the practical, frugal side of her telling her to keep walking, she had stopped in. After all, this wasn't just any sale. Everything was so inexpensive! And her husband had just gotten the tiniest pay raise recently... And she hadn't bought any real jewelry in what felt like forever...  
  
The happy go lucky side of her won out and she ventured in. She had even found a reasonably priced heart-shaped gold locket with one diamond chip in the center.  
She had been unable to pass it up. She had wanted a locket for a long time, and to find such a nice one at such a small a price... She had gotten it and immediately gone home to place her wedding picture on one side and her sons'  
picture on the other.  
  
She smiled happily at her slowly swelling tummy. She didn't know what she was going to do when their daughter arrived in a few more months.  
  
Still and all, she had shown her husband the purchase immediately... After she shredded the receipt and assured him that the diamond was actually a rhinestone and that the silver was fake. There was no way she was telling him it was real.  
Even if it had been cheap, he would have blown a gasket.  
  
She finished adding the appropriate amount of oregano to the marinara sauce and tasted it just to be sure. She smiled happily. It was perfect. She was hardly the best cook in the world. It was always nice when she managed to get something right.  
  
The rest of the meal was already laid out on the dining room table, place settings and all. She only had to do was lug the tub of sauce out there and it was done.  
She turned the stove off and wiped her hands on her apron. Then she stuck her head out into the living room and shouted, "Dinner's ready!"  
  
"All right!" cried the older of the two boys.  
  
"I'm starving," agreed his younger look alike.  
  
Their father chuckled and slowly made his way to the table, taking the time to turn off the television set on his way.  
  
The woman made her way back into the kitchen and picked up the pot full of bubbling spaghetti sauce. She was careful to use pot holders and move slowly.  
Naturally her husband would get flustered the minute he saw that she was lifting something heavy and take it from her. He was very worried about the baby... It was annoying, but sweet.  
  
The cuckoo came out of the small wooden doors, chirping to let them know it was eight o'clock.  
  
The locket flashed on her throat.  
  
The woman suddenly felt very tired. She didn't know why. She had felt perfectly awake a moment before. But there was no mistaking it. Her eyelids felt like they were being pulled down with weights. She was moving slowly and every step seemed to take monumental effort. She no longer felt like she could hold onto the pot of marinara sauce. And she was getting dizzy...  
  
The pot clattered to floor, red liquid spilling all over the kitchen floor. The woman followed soon after, collapsing to the floor. The sauce spread out from underneath her, like blood pouring from a wound.  
  
-----  
  
Usagi rubbed her eyes as she tried to regain her vision. The bright flash had managed to blind her for a few seconds. She couldn't see much of anything through the spots that had formed in front of her eyes. Usagi wasn't sure if she should be annoyed at the temporary inconvenience or be wary of what had just happened.  
She may not have been the brightest girl on the face of the earth, but she did know that jewelry didn't just light up when it felt like it. It didn't light up period.  
  
"What is going on?" Usagi murmured, rubbing the last bit of obstruction from her vision.  
  
She looked around the store to see if anything else weird was happening. But the jewelry had stopped glowing. The clock had gone back to ticking away the seconds until the quarter hour, when it would chime again. And it was still dark and utterly empty.  
  
She gulped for a third time at the memory. Usagi decided that the best thing to do was to go fetch Naru and her mother. They should know that there was something really weird about the jewelry they had not managed to sell that day.  
  
The blonde turned on her heel and ran towards the stairs at the back of the building, leaving the rose ring where it lay on the floor. She would go up to the top level, the penthouse apartment Naru shared with her mother. Usagi had always thought it was a little weird that they lived above their store, but now she was grateful for it.  
  
Usagi jogged past the storeroom when she heard a strange sound... like something hitting the floor. The blonde froze in mid-step, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Unidentifiable noises that one heard from behind in a dark,  
empty, scary place were never a good sign. She would have rather done her Algebra homework than see one, but Shingo had made her watch enough for her to know that it was a classic sign. Surely this meant that there was some kind of monster/  
erial killer/alien in the store, and it was going to kill her. She could keep running and be eaten/slain/abducted just outside the Osakas door and safety. Or she could turn around and put up a fight... sort of.  
  
The obvious choice was to run. She even started to make a mad dash for the stairs when she heard a quiet groan from inside the storeroom. That made Usagi stop again. She knew that voice. She'd known it since kindergarten.  
  
"Naru?"  
  
The thought of a friend in danger made Usagi halt her retreat. Running in order to save her own life was one thing. But abandoning a friend... That was something Usagi wasn't sure she would be able to live with. That was assuming she was going to live of course. Regardless, she would not let Naru be eaten/murdered/abducted alone.  
  
Usagi made yet another attempt to roll up her nonexistent sleeves, remembering too late that she still didn't have any. She glared at her arms as if they had committed a mortal offense against her. Then she said a number of unkind things about demons hiding in shadows and glowing jewelry and stalked over to the storeroom door.  
  
The blonde got there and was quite surprised to see light pouring out from under the door. She had been sure that no one was back here. Hadn't they heard her call? Maybe the unnamed villain had been here all this time. Had he prevented them from answering?  
  
There was only one way to find out.  
  
As much as she didn't want to, Usagi took a deep breath and stormed into the room.  
The first thing she saw was Naru sprawled out on the floor. She was clutching an expensive looking diamond necklace that she must have been putting back here.  
Usagi noticed that Naru looked a lot paler than she normally did and that her breathing was shallow.  
  
"Naru!" Usagi cried out in shock, lunging forward. She immediately tried to take her friend's pulse, but was unable to find it. Of course she was obviously breathing. She had to be alive. But Usagi was panicking. She didn't know what to do.  
  
"Naru!" Usagi repeated, gripping her friend's shoulders and shaking her slightly.  
"Can you hear me? Are you all right? Oh no... What happened?"  
  
It was at that point that Usagi happened to glance up, looking to heaven for help in this matter. She furrowed her brow when she saw that the light bulb was in fact not on. However, it was still incredibly bright in the room. As a matter of fact, it was a lot brighter than she ever remembered it being.  
  
A shadow passed across Usagi's face.  
  
Usagi turned absolutely white when she felt the movement behind her. Granted it could have been Mrs. Osaka... But she highly doubted that considering she was tied up next to the door Usagi had come through. That left one very unpleasant prospect.  
  
Her heart was beating impossibly loud.  
  
She had broken out into a cold sweat.  
  
Her muscles weren't moving fast enough as she turned to face whatever was behind her.  
  
Her eyes grew to an impossible size when she saw the monstrosity before her.  
  
She could do nothing else but scream.  
  
-----  
  
Some distance away, Chiba Mamoru had actually spent his evening arguing with a cat. Worse yet, it was yelling right back at him. Ironically, the subject of half of the rather heated discussion was whether or not Luna could actually talk.  
Yes, the words were coming out of her mouth in perfectly accented Japanese, but it wasn't possible. He had to be dreaming. Then when she had scratched him to show that he was awake, he had to be hallucinating. That was going to take some more convincing on Luna's part. It wasn't like she could go up to a random stranger on the street and ask if they heard her as well. She didn't even want to consider what that would lead to.  
  
The other half of the conversation wasn't going any better. That half had to do with the cat's odd announcement. A lot of the comments on Mamoru's part still dwelled on the insane, but now he was questioning her sanity. He briefly thought that it was a very well developed hallucination if the projected image was also insane, but he had to dismiss it quickly. He would commend himself on the achievement later.  
  
For now, he had to convince the cat that there was no possible way that he was part of a thousand year old civilization. After all, the moon couldn't sustain life! And if there had been a kingdom, where were the ruins? How come no one else knew about it? How did it fit up there next to the rabbit?  
  
That had gotten Luna somewhat hot under the collar.  
  
He was about to make some kind of comment about this seeming like something out of a poorly written anime, when he was suddenly struck with the worst migraine in his life. It suddenly exploded behind his left eye and his vision clouded over.  
Mamoru couldn't help but cry out, clutching his head. He could hear Luna asking if he was all right from somewhere far away, but he wasn't paying attention. All he could hear was the sound of a scream. The voice was familiar, but it wasn't from his dreams or from a fabled past life. It was happening at that very moment.  
He could feel it.  
  
Suddenly, he felt something hot like fire surge through him. The pain in his head only intensified. He tried to grip it harder, but he wasn't in control of his hands. He wasn't even sure if he could feel his hands any more. He didn't feel any part of his body, but he somehow knew that he was moving. But he wasn't the one doing it. He couldn't think about that for long though. All he could feel and process was the blazing flames... But then it wasn't fire. It wasn't warm like fire. It was prickly. Intense. Powerful. And dare he think it?  
  
Magical.  
  
A moment later, the pain was gone. He slowly opened his eyes... Only to see a man clad in tuxedo, domino mask, and top hat staring back at him. He didn't recognize himself at first.  
  
He looked over to Luna with an accusing curl in his lip. He was about to yell at her when he saw that she was as stunned as he was. She hadn't done this... He had done this. Sort of. But why?  
  
The pain came back tenfold. He heard the scream again.  
  
Someone needed his help.  
  
Without a single word to the black cat on his bed, he picked her up, ignoring the yowl of surprise. He knew he didn't have a moment to waste on talking. It was in complete silence that he rushed forward, bursting through his glass window twenty stories above the earth...  
  
-----  
  
Meanwhile, Tsukino Usagi was running for her life.  
  
After she had laid eyes on the... whatever-it-was with brown, wrinkled skin,  
yellow eyes and two inch fangs dressed in a purple frock identical to the one the unconscious Mrs. Osaka was wearing, she had thought of nothing else to do.  
Following her terrified shriek of course. And now she was continuing her master plan of "run for your life" all throughout the store. She had attempted to escape several times without success. Every time she got near the exit, it was somehow there to block her way. And considering it was about three feet taller than her with nails that went on for miles, she decided not to try and get past it.  
  
"What is going on?!" Usagi cried as she just managed to slip away from the youma's grasp. Yes, she had just been thinking that Sailor V's life was glamorous if she got to fight these things, but that didn't mean that she actually wanted to do it!  
She just wanted the ring! She didn't want to run into a demon! They weren't even supposed to exist! Sailor V only fought crime in real life. That was the reality. Monsters weren't real.  
  
Right?  
  
Usagi sprang forward when she felt a rush of air go past her head. The monster had taken another swipe at her head. Unfortunately, her attempt to save her skull only served to send her sprawling, scraping her knee on the floor. She clutched it, hissing in pain... Then she looked back up at the monster and realized she was about to feel a lot more than that. She stared up at the demon, blue eyes wide with terror. Her body reacted instinctively as the thing slowly advanced. She crawled backwards, trembling and whimpering. She almost wanted to plead for her life... But she couldn't form the words.  
  
"Why aren't you like the others?" the monster hissed as it continued stalking towards her.  
  
Usagi blinked in surprise, but she never stopped her retreat. She opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a few squeaks. She was scared speechless.  
  
"Why aren't you wearing the ring?" the monster said, glancing hungrily at her fingers. Usagi curled up her hands into fists, hiding the appendages. She was getting a feeling that they might be demon delicacy or something. "You loved it.  
Why aren't you wearing it?"  
  
Usagi was still in shock that the vampire (if that was what it was) was actually trying to carry on a conversation... And about the ring of all things! She was shocked to discover that the monster had been Naru's mother all along, but she still couldn't express herself intelligently. She didn't seem to be able to move anymore either...  
  
Usagi realized with a sinking heart that she had backed herself into a corner.  
  
The monster above her smiled, a perfect white fang peaking out from her parted lips. She reached down to the cowering teenager with lightning fast reflexes,  
grasping her around the throat. Usagi managed to let out one last scream before her airway was effectively cut off. The youma lifted her up effortlessly,  
slamming her against the wall. Usagi tried to pry off the demon's vile hands or kick her, but she didn't have the strength.  
  
The youma studied her with interest. "Maybe there's a human who can detect our magic... Jadeite won't be happy about that."  
  
Usagi wasn't listening. She was just trying to survive. Her efforts were weakening as she began to experience tunnel vision.  
  
"Well, even though you managed to evade our device, it was foolish to try and challenge me. You should have known better little girl... It was all rather futile. You're energy is mine anyway!" Her grip on the girl slackened, and for a few microseconds Usagi was grateful to breathe once again, gasping dramatically.  
Then she saw the monster hold up her other hand where a ball of white, glowing haze floated. The room suddenly filled with light that Usagi had to turn away from.  
  
She screamed as she felt her lifeforce being ripped away from her.  
  
The monster blinked in surprise. Humans didn't feel pain when their energy was stolen. They just slowly slipped into unconsciousness. This girl's reaction was unnatural...  
  
After a few seconds, the youma realized that her energy supply was equally strange. Most humans would have reached a critical point by this time. But this girl had barely begun to relinquish her full supply. The youma would have liked to dwell on that, but the girl's shrieks were preventing any coherent thought process...  
  
Which was why she couldn't identify the sigil that appeared on her prey's brow.  
  
Just then, the door burst open. The youma snarled, dropping the girl. She wasn't going anywhere, weak enough for the time being. It seemed that there was a new threat to contend with.  
  
-----  
  
"It is both immoral and despicable to attack a defenseless young girl in the dead of night. That in and of itself is detestable. But to hold yet another woman hostage, assume her form, and harm her own daughter? That is inexcusable. You disgust me, and I am afraid I will not allow myself to let you continue to walk this earth as long as you pose a threat to women everywhere. For all of your trespasses committed tonight, you will be punished."  
  
What the hell was he doing?!  
  
First of all, Mamoru could not even begin to believe that something so cheesy and overtly chauvinistic had come out of his mouth. That very speech had been immoral! To subject any human being, or demon for that matter, to that bunch of crap was criminal. Then there was the fact that he was wearing a tuxedo that,  
while snazzy, had never been in his closet. He also didn't have a cape, a cane,  
or an obnoxious top hat that had managed to stay on his head on the entire trip to the jewelry store that he had never laid eyes on, yet he had known exactly how to get there. Couple that with the screams he had heard in his head, the talking cat on his shoulder, and the fact that he had managed to position himself in front of an open window with moonlight pouring in to form the perfect silhouette without even trying, and Mamoru was completely convinced that he had lost his mind.  
  
Had the youma had eyebrows, she probably would be arching one snidely. If this was the best that Earth had to offer, she doubted Metallia was really necessary.  
"Who are you Terran? And why are you interrupting me?"  
  
Mamoru wanted to wonder why the youma was so articulate and her use of the word Terran, but he was too busy wondering about the next two words that came out of his mouth.  
  
"Tuxedo Kamen."  
  
He heard the inquisitive look Luna gave him.  
  
"Say that again?" Luna muttered incredulously. "Really, I wish you would have talked to me before you selected a name for yourself... Well, I would have like a discussion about your transformation and flying around Tokyo for the last ten minutes, but I suppose that might have been too much to ask for. But really, this was just your name and I am supposed to be your guardian. You're going to have to be a lot more open with me in the future you know."  
  
If Mamoru... or Tuxedo Kamen had not been so against violence toward animals, he would have slapped her across her whiskers.  
  
The monster's reaction wasn't much better.  
  
"Tuxedo Kamen?" she repeated slowly, as if trying to get used to the strange words while racking her brain for any information. After a few moments, she shook her head and said, "Never heard of you. You can't be that important."  
  
"My importance is not an issue," Tuxedo Kamen said elegantly. "Your demise on the other hand..."  
  
The youma snorted in disbelief. "My demise? Oh no my dear boy... I think you are sorely mistaken. It is your demise that we should be discussing!"  
  
The monster's idea of a discussion apparently took its form in violence. For with her last sentence she leapt upwards, claws outstretched, ready to tear his face away. Tuxedo Kamen literally floated out of her way easily, moving up and over her ghastly, misshapen form without any effort whatsoever. He landed in front of the prone body on the floor, blonde streamers stretching out from her head. He wanted to see if the strange girl was all right and who she was, for shadows had hidden her face from him before. He was sure that the scream he had heard was hers and that he knew it, but he now did not have the time to see her face... But he did manage to see the rise and fall of her chest. She was alive. Right now that was all he had time to see.  
  
For the monster had stopped in midair and was now hovering overhead. She turned around with an annoyed snarl, narrowing her alien eyes. She bore her gleaming fangs and flexed her fingers, each knuckle cracking hideously. "You intend to put up a fight then?"  
  
Tuxedo Kamen nodded sharply. "I cannot allow you to cause any more harm."  
  
She laughed, a sound that turned his bones to ice though he would never have admitted it. It was a sound from nightmares he had witnessed as a child. Demons springing forth from the unknown, growling with violence, tearing at his skin,  
ripping him apart... and finding supreme joy in it. Those dreams were almost as terrifying as the ones with his princess... He didn't know why. But nonetheless,  
it was taking a lot of willpower to keep him from shaking.  
  
Luna rubbed her head against his cheek. Somehow she knew. And he knew that she wouldn't leave him. Strange, he had never thought cats to be loyal.  
  
The monster stopped in mid-cackle and raced for him again, her hands stretching towards him. He could have sworn he saw her nails double in size in a split second.  
  
"Watch the girl," Tuxedo Kamen hissed as he dodged left. He felt the weight on his right shoulder suddenly disappear. It threw him off balance temporarily...  
  
But for too long. The monster had landed right next to him. She wasted no time in letting out another screech and leaping at him. This time, he didn't have one moment to react to her. She gripped his shoulders, her razor nails digging into his skin, drawing blood. He hissed in pain as he fell back under her supreme weight. His back hit the ground and the wind was temporarily knocked out of him.  
  
She released him, lifting her crooked hands aloft, naturally purple fingernails glinting in the moonlight. It served her just as it had served him, making her appear more menacing with no effort. He marveled at that for one moment...  
  
When he heard Luna's voice call out to him...  
  
And the young girl's scream of horror in his head...  
  
And his princess begging him to help from his dreams... and his past...  
  
And his own grunt of effort as he pulled his cane from nowhere and held it in front of his face. It happened so quickly that the monster hadn't seen it coming.  
She cried out in surprise as her hands were blocked by the cane. She growled from deep within her throat and gripped it just as tightly as he was, pushing down on it.  
  
To his disappointment, he found that she was stronger than him. Adrenaline and stubborn pride were the only things that kept the cane from coming down and crushing his larynx under her weight. She gritted her teeth once again and increased her strength, pushing the cane back just a few more inches. Tuxedo Kamen felt perspiration begin to appear on his forehead. He was clenching his own jaw so much that it hurt. His arms were screaming in pain and shaking. He wasn't going to hold on much longer...  
  
It was then that he realized that there was absolutely nothing wrong with his legs.  
  
He bent his legs underneath the monster and then kicked out with all of his might.  
She was taken unawares and screamed in surprise as she was propelled off of him,  
flying over his head and behind one of the glass counters. Tuxedo Kamen sprang to his feet, brandishing his only weapon like a sword as she was bound to reappear in seconds.  
  
But she didn't.  
  
He stood there, waiting for what felt like hours. His breathing was ragged. He was covered in his own sweat. And he was trembling from the flight or fight response and sheer terror. His midnight blue eyes were large, darting back and forth like mad. He was waiting for her next move. Which had to be leaping out over the counter when he least expected it...  
  
"Tuxedo Kamen! Behind you!"  
  
He gasped as he suddenly felt the presence Luna was warning him about. He spun around so fast he nearly snapped his spine only to be greeted with a fist flying for his jaw. It made painful contact and sent him sprawling back before he even laid eyes on the thing that had done it. He did however manage to get a good look at her when she rushed him again, this time punching him in the stomach. Tuxedo Kamen doubled over, all of the air leaving his lungs once again. Then he was knocked back down to the floor as a roundhouse kick leveled him.  
  
Things were definitely not going his way.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen acted instinctively, rolling away from the demon before he knew she was doing anything. It was a good thing he did or he would have been impaled by ten knife-like nails. He got to his feet quickly, bracing himself for whatever was next.  
  
The monster just stood there, looking quite irritated. "You just don't give up do you?"  
  
"Persistence is a virtue," Tuxedo Kamen responded grandly.  
  
"And a damn annoying one," she remarked snidely.  
  
Apparently she wasn't going to do anything, so it was up to Tuxedo Kamen to lead the charge this time. He ran forward, drawing his fist back. He was ready to pay her back for his throbbing mouth...  
  
But suddenly she wasn't there anymore.  
  
He stopped, not skidding to a halt. He heard Luna's outraged hiss the second he noticed that the youma was no longer standing in front of him. He didn't halt his momentum and whirled around, knowing what he was about to see. Luna was standing in front of the still unconscious teenager, back arched and claws extended. The monster was standing above them, a maniac and blood thirsty smile gracing her lipless mouth. She wasn't paying the cat any attention, her eyes fixed on the unblemished porcelain skin of the girl...  
  
"No!" Tuxedo Kamen shouted in outrage. He felt something form in his hand, which was still drawn back behind him. He didn't know what it was. He could only assume it was a weapon. He thrust his hand forward, letting the mysterious object fly. It soared out before him, a blurred streak of crimson. It stopped when it embedded itself into the monster's right shoulder. It was only then that Tuxedo Kamen saw what it was.  
  
"A rose?"  
  
He didn't have time to dwell on the strangeness (and/or lameness) of the attack.  
For the monster started shrieking as if she had just been stabbed with a poison sword of flame. She reached back to claw at the projectile with her right arm,  
but that proved to be quite difficult since arms couldn't bend that way easily and since it had started crumbling and falling away.  
  
A few moments later, a small pile of dust lay next to the now one-armed youma.  
She stared at the place where her appendage should have been in disgusted horror.  
Tuxedo Kamen couldn't help but feel ill as the remaining muscles twitched, trying to move the nonexistent arm. He turned away, unable to look.  
  
That was a big mistake.  
  
Her traumatized gasp quickly melted into a wrathful shriek. He didn't see as she dashed towards him, jumping into the air, curling up her legs, and kicking out.  
The bottoms of her feet slammed into his chest with such force that it sent him sprawling back into the glass display case. It shattered underneath his weight.  
  
He let his own yelp as he felt tiny glass shards scraping against his skin. He was sure that there weren't any embedded in his skin, so there were no serious injuries... The pricking pain in his back was nothing compared to the fact that it felt like his chest had just caved in.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen looked up at her continuous scream. He saw the monster and was struck with even more profound terror. Her hair seemed wilder, her fangs sharper,  
her nails longer, her eyes more menacing, her very being filled with raging,  
vengeful fire. Her one fist shook with fury. She screeched with every word.  
"What have you done to me?! What did you do?!"  
  
Tuxedo Kamen would have liked to say something witty or tough or elegant or fearful, but he was having trouble breathing at that moment. He was moving his lips, but nothing was coming out. Not that he could think of anything to say in response anyway.  
  
She was even more seething after his lack of response. She let out a half-roar,  
half-shriek. It was a mix of lion and banshee. It was like squealing tires,  
scraping against a chalkboard, and shattering glass all at once. Her eyes were alight with something even more inhuman than she had been before. She rushed forward, fully prepared to deliver the final, bloody blow. She moved so slowly.  
Just like in the movies. He didn't move from the broken glass. That was just like the movies too.  
  
Broken glass.  
  
His eyes darted right, searching among the shards and slivers. He found what he was looking for almost instantly. There was one piece of glass that was big enough to be a dagger. It even came to a point, just like a regular knife.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen glanced back up as the monster was a mere three feet away from him.  
He reached out with his hand so fast that Luna's eyes barely caught the movement.  
He grasped the shard, ignoring how it cut into his palm. Then he swung his arm wide, praying for the first time in years.  
  
He felt relieved when he saw the tip of the glass dig into the monster's skin,  
slicing across her throat. Her eyes widened as a scream was stopped in her throat. She hovered in the air, unmoving, her nails centimeters from Tuxedo Kamen's face. He stared at the cut, waiting for blood to pour forth, wondering why things where still in slow motion...  
  
But she never bled. Instead her entire body started falling to pieces just like her arm had earlier. A crack formed in the middle, spreading out quickly.  
Everything turned a sickly brown color, even her clothes. Her expression was frozen for three seconds, lines working across her face as she began to break apart. And then she fell apart all together, turning to dust and falling away,  
onto Tuxedo Kamen. He sprang to his left, dusting off the monster's remains in dread. Without warning, the doors to the shop flew open and an unseen wind blew what was left of the youma away.  
  
It was over.  
  
He had won.  
  
But he was still petrified.  
  
-----  
  
From a few blocks away, a little girl awoke in her father's arms. She had no idea why she was lying on the floor or what had made her daddy cry. She had never seen him cry before. It scared her even more than the fact that the brooch she had stolen from her grandmother was lying on the floor. She started to cry too when he gathered her in his arms, holding her like a baby, sobbing into her shoulder.  
  
-----  
  
In the park, a young man was sitting on the bench, his fiancée's head in his lap.  
He was calling her name, and shaking her, his voice shaking. When he beautiful eyes opened, filled with tears and fearful, unaware of what had happened to her,  
he could do nothing by kiss her. They remained like that for some time,  
comforting one another in the only way they could think of.  
  
-----  
  
Elsewhere, a family was gathered around their matriarch in a hospital room. An ambulance had been called when an expectant mother had fainted and rushed to the emergency room. The doctors had determined that there was nothing wrong with the baby, but they couldn't explain why the woman had passed out. They also couldn't explain why she woke up, terrified, but otherwise fine.  
  
-----  
  
"Tuxedo Kamen?"  
  
He jumped in surprise at the voice from his side. He turned, fist clenched... And was surprised when he saw nothing there. Instinctively, he looked down to see worried amber eyes staring up at him from an ebony face.  
  
"Are you all right?" Luna asked gently, laying a paw on his leg.  
  
He nodded, not saying anything. His chest still felt like an elephant was standing on it, his jaw was pounding, his bang sang with pin-like wounds, and he couldn't stop shaking. He was still so scared. Even without the chest wound, he didn't think he could breathe. That thing had nearly... He almost... What if he hadn't... God, he felt so sick.  
  
It was then that he heard a quiet groan come from somewhere else in the darkened store. Tuxedo Kamen looked up sharply, watching as the once prone teenager was starting to move. She slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, golden pigtails hiding her face. She was wearing a school uniform that was unremarkable,  
but quite familiar. Her voice was familiar, sweet sounding and childlike. She placed a small hand on the back of her head, rubbing it tenderly. Then she looked up.  
  
Both of their eyes went wide. It was perfectly understandable for Tsukino Usagi's jaw to hit the floor. One, it was a lot closer to it than it usually was. Two,  
it wasn't every day when you woke up and saw a mysterious man in a cape standing in front of you. And it made the same amount of sense that Tuxedo Kamen be shocked that he had just saved the girl he had been planning to kill.  
  
Then Usagi remembered herself. She leapt to her feet, looking around frantically.  
She curled up her fists as if she could have hoped to defend herself against the ghouls that lurked in the darkness and said, "Where is that thing? Where is it?"  
  
"It's all right," Tuxedo Kamen said soothingly, walking forward slowly. He still had trouble breathing, but he forced himself to speak for her benefit. "You're all right. It's gone."  
  
Usagi turned to him suspiciously. Did she think he was lying? Did she think he was the monster? Did she think he was the enemy? She had to. She had no reason to trust him. She had been unconscious the entire time. It was natural to think that he was the enemy. He should leave before she started screaming for help and things got really complicated.  
  
"You promise?" she said.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen blinked in surprise. The question was so simple and child-like.  
And so unlike anything that he had thought her to be thinking. He looked into her crystal eyes and saw right through her. She did believe him. Or that he was a friend anyway. She was all right, but she was still scared... She just had to make sure that it was really gone... She would trust his word. She trusted him.  
  
"I promise," Tuxedo Kamen answered quietly.  
  
Before he could say or do anything else, Usagi ran forward, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. Tuxedo Kamen wasn't sure what possessed him to wrap his arms around the girl that had become his arch nemesis in the past twenty four hours,  
but he did it. She returned the embrace, burying her face into his chest... And she sobbed. He was rock steady without any effort as he felt her fragile body tremble in his arms. He didn't know how he managed it, but he managed to appear strong for her. Somehow he knew that doing that was the only way to calm her down again. And he had to make her feel safe.  
  
He wished he knew why.  
  
After a few minutes, he felt her stop shaking, but he didn't let go. He kept holding her, unsure of what to do. He was still just as scared as she was. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make himself move... He wasn't sure if wan--  
  
"I was so scared..." she said quietly, her voice quaking to illustrate the point.  
"I... I've never seen anything like that. Not anything that was... that was real.  
And... Oh God... That was real wasn't it? That... That was really a monster.  
It almost... It almost... Oh my God!"  
  
He hushed her as she started crying again with her epiphany. But as he did, he couldn't help but examine her words. That had been real. It had hurt him. It had nearly killed him. It had laid one of its filthy hands on the innocent girl before him and showed her that her childhood nightmares were real. That was the greatest grievance it could have ever committed. He almost wished that the youma would come back so that he could make it suffer just a little bit more... Almost.  
  
"It's all right," he repeated, though he wasn't sure if he believed it. "You're safe now. It's gone. It can't hurt you."  
  
Usagi hiccupped quietly. She gripped him tightly, and then felt something wet against the palm of her hand. She pulled away slightly, looking at her hand. She gasped, staring at the blood smeared across her fingertips. She looked up at him,  
fully realizing what this happened. "You... You're hurt!"  
  
"Not much," he lied.  
  
Usagi shook her head. He wasn't sure if that meant that she didn't believe him or that she couldn't believe what was going on. Maybe both. "You fought that thing didn't you? You... You saved me."  
  
Tuxedo Kamen shrugged. He really didn't know how to respond that.  
  
Without warning, the girl threw her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoes in order to do so. He staggered back slightly under the unexpected weight, but regained his footing quickly. Then he listened to what she was saying... Which proved to be quite a chore as she was talking a mile a minute. "Oh, you got hurt to try and save me and you did and you got rid of that youma and thank you so much and I can't believe you did that and--"  
  
Tuxedo Kamen pried her off gently, shushing her again by placing a finger on her lips. Her child-like eyes went wide and her pure skin stained pink with a blush.  
He couldn't help but smile. "You're welcome. And remember... if you ever need me, I'll always be there to protect you."  
  
And with that he scooped up the irritated cat at his feet and leapt back up to the window ledge. Without so much as another word he flew out of it, leaving her.  
  
Usagi stared up after him, hands clasped in front of her chest, eyes distant and sparkling. Her mouth hung open ever so slightly, letting a soft sigh escape her lips. Terrifying experience or not, it had certainly had one good outcome...  
  
"WHAT HAPPENED?!"  
  
Usagi flinched. Oh yeah. The store was trashed. That wasn't a good outcome.  
  
The blonde turned to see Naru and her mother staring out at the ruins of what had been the Osa-P Jewelry Shop. Plants were overturned, pictures lay on the ground,  
and then there was the shattered display case. And Usagi was standing right in the middle of it.  
  
She saw a glittering ring at her feet. She bent down to pick it up and held it out in front of her, a sheepish grin on her face.  
  
"Would you believe I came to return this?"  
  
-----  
  
Tuxedo Kamen stepped back into his apartment through the open... broken window.  
The black cat who called herself Luna jumped down from his shoulder and on to his bed. She sat down without a word, even though she could talk and wanted to very much at this point. But she knew better. She shouldn't and didn't say anything.  
She simply watched as Tuxedo Kamen stood in the middle of his bedroom... Then as the guise fell away from him in a shimmer of gold light. Then she watched as Chiba Mamoru stood in the middle of his bedroom.  
  
He wasn't moving. He was barely blinking. His breathing was ragged. He was sweating buckets. He was incredibly pale, even sickly. He was trembling. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists. His eyes were large and jumping around,  
searching every suspicious corner for some untold horror.  
  
In short, Mamoru was scared stiff.  
  
Then without warning, Mamoru ripped his shirt off. Luna continued to watch as he began a desperate attempt to brush off any remaining dust from his body. His movements were hasty and frantic. He was in a frenzy, desperate to remove the remains of what he had done from his person. Of course, Luna knew that there were none left, but he wouldn't have believed her if she said so.  
  
He started hyperventilating, as if he thought that his attempts were futile and he was never going to get rid of it all. If at all possible, he grew paler. Luna was finding it even more difficult to stop her mouth. He rubbed his skin with a ferocity that unsettled her into continued silence. It began to turn red and raw under his ministrations. He was still hyperventilating. He was covered in even more sweat.  
  
Suddenly, he stopped. He wasn't moving or even breathing at that moment. He grew so pale he turned a greenish grey. Then Mamoru choked slightly and covered his mouth. Without a word, he turned and ran for his bathroom.  
  
He vomited violently, emptying his stomach of all that he had eaten that day. And when that was done, he didn't stop retching. In his mind, it was like he was purging himself of all of the horror he had just witnessed. The demon who had decomposed on his own body. The realization that there really were things that went bump in the night. The fact that he had been a breath away from death. The life that would weigh forever on his conscience even if it had been a monster.  
The little girl who had lost her innocence that night.  
  
Half an hour later, Mamoru emerged, white as a ghost and spent. He fell on to his bed, not disturbing the feline that still sat there, patient as ever. He lay on his back for a time, staring up at the ceiling. But no matter if his eyes were open or closed, all he could see was the deadly wound across the throat and the look in her eyes just before she died. He continued to focus on his ceiling,  
hoping that the images would go away after awhile.  
  
They finally did, and it was only then that he allowed himself to speak. He turned his head towards the waiting cat. He swallowed, flinching at his burning throat and how his chest still ached. He then took a deep breath and said the only thing he could even hope to articulate at that moment.  
  
"What the hell is going on?"AUTHOR'S NOTES  
  
The ring that Mrs. Osaka gives Usagi and the housewife's locket are my own creations. The engagement ring is a creation of Kay Jewelers and the brooch is from They do not belong to me and neither does Sailor Moon.  
  
I would like to add that this is the only chapter in which the plot will be that close to how the original was... Honestly, I didn't see how I could begin a story of Sailor Moon (or Tuxedo Kamen for that matter) without the jewelry store plot.  
I tried, but I couldn't do it. The others are very well twisted to where they barely resemble what was in the original, if anything like it even was.  
  
And yes the youma is... rather intelligent. I am under the impression that not every youma is a raving idiot. Most are, but not all. This just happened to be one of the smart ones... Besides, I needed exposition. :P  
  
Coming Soon - Part Two: By Any Other Name 


	2. By Any Other Name

Hands Fall Together  
Part Two: By Any Other Name  
2/27  
by Kihin Ranno  
PG-13 

Mamoru stood in his creamy white, impersonal bathroom. There was no dramatic splash of color or any exquisite decoration on the tile beneath his bare feet. Even the faucets were plain, ordinary, and entirely lacking in personality. It was the kind of bathroom even the cheapest motel would turn its nose up at. The only variation from the bony, utterly morbid hue was the lackluster blue towels flipped over the bar without regard for presentation. All in all, it was one of with the most depressing bathrooms anyone would ever lay eyes on.

But Mamoru had paid little mind to his lack of interior design skills over the course of his life. And today was the one day that he could unequivocally state that he would never again dwell on the trivial. How could he after last night's events?

He dragged a hand down his haggard face, dully noting that he looked about ten years older. He also gave no heed to the fact that the bathroom window had been left open, inviting in the morning chill.

The temperature would not have bothered him at all had he not stood in front of the unforgiving mirror with his chest absent of any covering. Goosebumps traveled across his skin, making their way over his broad shoulders and down his arms. The hair on his neck stood straight on end, rising to attention to pay respect to the gentle breeze.

But more to the point and all the more disturbing, his chest literally heaved with the effort it took him to stand. Then again, what could one expect after a long night of sickness and sleeplessness? Besides, as much as he wanted to collapse and dream away the previous night's events, he couldn't. Not when there were larger issues that he needed to ponder.

Namely, his back.

Even though he had inspected it time and time again with the meticulous eyes of a doctor, Mamoru could not accept what he had seen. He turned around again, craning his neck to the point of pain. Just as it had been every other time, it was free of any scrape or scab. It was the same unscarred, pale flesh it had always been.  
It was as pristine as his right hand.

The night's events played back in front of his eyes like some bad action movie. He saw it all. The girl who lay unconscious and frightened on the cold, hard ground. The monster that had snarled at him, bearing stereotypical fangs. The talking cat who had been helpful only in getting him mixed up into this mess; other than that, she had been insufferable and overbearing. The tuxedo which he had never donned before that had turned him into a completely different, unrecognizable hero who called himself Tuxedo Kamen. The glass display case that had been crushed beneath him after impact. The tiny, clear debris piercing his back, digging into his otherwise unmarred flesh. His hand reaching for the largest he could find. Flinching at the pain as the edges sliced his palm.

Yet now, unbelievably, he was completely free of any wound. He was sore and slightly bruised, but he was no where near the state that he should have been in.

It simply didn't make any sense.

A tiny knock came at the door. Judging by the sound, the hand was less than two feet away from the ground. Or should he say the paw?

He ran a hand through his hair that was uncomfortably matted with sweat and grease. He took one last look in the mirror. His skin was grey as a corpse save for the dark circles under his glassy eyes. It was a frigid, grey Thursday morning and Chiba Mamoru was the very picture of imperfection. It was an odd phenomenon given that his Chemistry professor for Tuesdays and Thursdays had flaming auburn hair, legs that went on for miles, and no wedding band adorning her left ring finger.

The knock came again, this time more insistent. He knew that he could not procrastinate any longer. He dragged himself across the few feet to the door and pulled it open, leaning heavily on the doorknob. He looked down as if he had been dealing with a cat who could knock despite the absence of opposable thumbs and a few metacarpals for quite some time. Mamoru met her worried caramel eyes with a forced smile.

"I can't believe I'm being mothered by a feline."

Luna huffed, though not unkindly, and spoke in what Mamoru was quickly beginning to identify as her patented lecture tone. "Well, I am the only one around at the moment. Not to mention, the only one who knows about last night, and who ever can know about it as long as we are on the subject. Frankly, I cannot even begin to imagine who you feel would be better suited to this task. And may I add--"

"Relax," Mamoru groaned, sounding like a regular high school student that had grown entirely frustrated with his mother. He couldn't help but feel that the metaphor was all too apt as he slowly made his way back to his unkempt bed. "It was a joke."

"Oh," Luna said, looking mildly embarrassed. Were it not for the midnight dark fur covering her tiny face, Mamoru was quite sure her face would be the same color as his Chemistry professor's hair. Still, she managed to collect herself by the time she padded up behind him and leapt gracefully unto his bed. "Well, you're not very funny."

"So I've been told," Mamoru muttered as he pulled the covers up to his chin. He cast a long look at what had once been a very nice window, but it had been the one casualty from his little adventure. "I wonder how on earth I'm going to explain this one to the Super..." He glanced at Luna. "This is your fault. Any thoughts?"

Luna puffed out her chest, looking extremely insulted at the implication. "I will stress yet again that the broken window was not my doing. Did I ever once tell you that bursting through a window was the correct, prudent thing to do in your situation? No. I did not. So don't blame me for your impulsive behavior." She flipped her tail in a distinctly haughty manner, signaling the end of that conversation.

"Whatever you say," Mamoru said with a purposefully undisguised eye roll. "I guess I'll fix it myself."

"That's the spirit!" Luna exclaimed happily. "Taking responsibility for your actions! That's what I like to see!"

Mamoru stared at his new housemate as if she had grown a second head that happened to be covered in scales and gills... And then the first head had started eating it. "Now I'm convinced. I am trapped in a bad anime."

The dark cat scoffed, but decided to let the subject drop. She took a deep breath to stay her temper and walked up to him. "I take it you won't be attending school today?"

Mamoru decided that he shouldn't have to answer that.

Luna glowered after several awkward moments of silence. "Well, one of us needed to bring it up! And I should mention that you cannot make a habit out of this. Now that the enemy has made itself known, it is entirely possible that this kind of thing will be happening every day. You're going to have to get used to late nights and... unpleasant circumstances."

Mamoru felt like yelling something about how that was putting it mildly or possibly picking her up by the scruff of her neck and throwing her out of his twenty-two story window. He thought better of it only because of his extremely humane principals (or so he told himself). He started to roll over in order to block her out since he obviously could not kill her. Of all the things he did not want to hear, a responsibility lecture from a furball was right at the bottom of the list.

"However," Luna continued in spite of his apparent shunning of her. "I understand that all of this has come as quite a shock to you. It isn't every day that one learns that the monsters hiding in the closets are actually real. And it certainly isn't every day that one has to... kill one of them." She looked away at that and swallowed hard.

Mamoru stopped for a moment before resettling himself. Perhaps his new "guardian" was not entirely possessing of unreasonable expectations. She even had the capacity to feel guilt, if he was reading her kitty body language correctly. He could only presume that she wished she had better equipped him for his first fight against the enemy, whoever they were. Whatever the case may have been, her words were hardly comforting to him. Before she went on or before he was tempted to prompt her for more details on anything altogether unpleasant, he changed the subject. "Why aren't I hurt?"

Luna blinked and screwed up her furry face in confusion. "You're not hurt? You could have fooled me."

"No, I mean..." Mamoru said, flinching slightly as he sat up. She was quite correct. He was by no means completely healthy. "I'm talking about the scrapes. I was bleeding last night, remember? But now there's not even a scar."

Luna frowned slightly. It took her awhile to come up with a suitable response, and frankly it didn't comfort him much. "My best guess would be that now that you've been awakened to the fight for the Moon Kingdom, you have to be ready to fight at any given moment. Thus, accelerated healing. It's the only thing I can think of that makes sense."

After a time, Mamoru nodded slightly, though that was hardly his idea of a plausible explanation. Then again, he supposed this new found gift was a minor concern compared to everything else...

What was he fighting for? Who was he? What connection did he have with this ancient civilization? Why him? Why now? Was the Moon Princess a coincidence or was he just covering his eyes to the truth?

"What else can you tell me?" He said finally, "About... this?"

Luna sighed, her posture telling of regret. "Not much I fear. But I'll relate what I can."

The cat took a deep breath, shutting her eyes. Mamoru guessed that she had to shut off the rest of the world in order to experience the hazy one that had long since disappeared and been entirely forgotten.

"One thousand years ago, this galaxy was almost entirely at peace," Luna began, suddenly sounding a lot older than she had several moments before. "All nine planets had some form of life on them, and they all lived in relative harmony with one another. It was an event that had never before been documented in the annals of history... An event that will never again come to pass. At the center of this miraculous utopia was the Moon Kingdom, ruled over by the legendary Queen Serenity."

Her voice broke slightly as she thought about the monarch that had once so wisely ruled over so many worlds. Though her memories were incomplete, Luna could still remember the admiration, respect, and love she had once held for the woman and continued to hold. Thinking of her would always be painful even though she could not even conjure up the most obscure feature of her face.

"Eight of the nine planets had joined in what was known as the Great Silver Alliance. Each one contributed to the Kingdom's growth and fruition, including warriors to protect the monarchy. And for centuries we coexisted without conflict.

"Earth was not a member of this alliance. We were known to them, but any record of our existence has long since been destroyed. We did invite the Earth to join the Alliance when it was first formed, but they could not meet our conditions. Men here still waged war with one another. As long as blood was spilt upon this soil, Earth would never join the Alliance."

Luna paused for a moment, her eyes opening. The woeful shame that suddenly filled the air was palpable. It made Mamoru feel ill at ease.

"I will not claim that the members of the Alliance were entirely innocent in what happened next... The Terrans became something of a joke in the courts. They were inferior, but we were unkind. And we underestimated them greatly. But where we were guilty of pride, they possessed frightening avarice.

"One so-called benefit to being a part of the Alliance was a form of immortality. The Terrans resented us for our life span. Thus, they joined forces with an unspeakable horror in order to destroy us.

"No one ever knew exactly how they aligned themselves with this... thing that came after us. We knew who it was then, but all I can remember when I think on it is darkness... Never ending, bone chilling, empty darkness..."

Mamoru shivered as the memory of the living blackness in his dream filled his mind. He knew that this could not be coincidence. Still, he kept silent. To explain the darkness would mean explaining his princess. And even if the girl in his dreams and the monarch they were searching for were one and the same, his princess was too cherished a thing to tell Luna.

"They attacked," Luna continued, "We never saw it coming. We were fools then, secure in our power. No one was prepared for the assaults. The enemy ravaged and raped the lands until they were nothing but barren graveyards. They killed everything and turned the planets into what they are today. Useless, dead piles of rock.

"After decimating the other planets, the enemy finally attacked the Moon Kingdom. They came for the carnage, but we were already defeated. Our forces were diminished. We were weak, still licking our wounds. We did not have a chance against the hordes of hell and Terran men who were so accustomed to blood and slaughter. The warriors of the planets, the Sailor Senshi, were murdered in protecting the heir, but she died as well. In only a few short weeks, everything we had worked so hard to create had been completely decimated.

"But the Queen still lived. Her daughter, her warriors, her people all lay dead around her... and she didn't have a scratch. She knew that she could not allow her Kingdom to end in such a way. She needed vengeance for the death of her daughter and the annihilation of the Great Silver Alliance. In her grief and wrath, she somehow managed to summon enough power to wipe out the enemy entirely. One woman accomplished what tens of thousands of men had been unable to do."

Luna sniffed slightly, her voice breaking suddenly. Mamoru wasn't sure whether or not normal cats could cry, but he decided that no matter what the answer was, Luna had every right to grieve.

"She... gave her life in doing so...

"But in her last moments, she gave us all a great gift. A new life. We were all reborn, one thousand years later, to try and begin anew." Luna suddenly darkened, spitting out the next sentence as if it was the most unforgivable curse ever invented. "Unfortunately, Queen Serenity did not realize that she was also sending forward the spirits of the enemy. And it was reborn in the same time."

"Wait a minute," Mamoru said, suddenly realizing where all of this had been leading. "Are you telling me that the... thing that I fought yesterday... That's the enemy that was killed one thousand years ago?"

Luna shrugged as only a cat could. "Yes, actually. When Serenity sent you and I forward, the monsters came with us. She was too weak to separate the good from the evil... If that was possible to do anyway."

"So, let me get this straight..." Mamoru said, ignoring the pounding migraine that was suddenly erupting just above his right eye. "Not only was the youma a reincarnated spirit from a thousand years ago... But so am I?"

"Yes," Luna said. "You must be one of the warriors that was meant to protect the monarchy... Though you are most definitely not a Sailor Senshi."

"Why not?"

Luna gave him a clearly incredulous look. "Apparently I forgot to mention that Sailor Senshi can only be female."

Mamoru laughed, finding no mirth in any of this. "Yeah, that does rule me out." He paused, turning back to her. He felt some glimmer of hope rise up and swell within him, but he did his best to crush it. Hope was a weakness he had long learned to forget. "I don't suppose you know who I was?"

Luna snorted at the absurdity of the idea. "Of course not. That would make the mystery of you nonexistent. I don't know who you were, Chiba Mamoru. I also don't know why of all people I found you first. I have sensed other members of the Moon Kingdom in Tokyo, but none of them possessed any magic as potent as yours. The one thing I do know is that now that I have found you, you are meant to be me do what I was reborn to do. Namely, find the Sailor Senshi and the Moon Princess and kill the enemy once and for all thereby saving the Earth from certain doom. That shouldn't take too much effort."

Mamoru was pretty sure she was being sardonic, but frankly her sarcastic voice sounded an awful lot like her regular voice.

"How?" Mamoru asked. "How the hell are we supposed to do all of this? I mean. I don't even know where to begin. If I don't remember anything about the Silver Millennium, then they certainly don't. And if they do, they have to be locked up in a mental institution somewhere. How exactly are we planning on doing this?" He punctuated his mini-rant with a very loud, very embarrassing yawn.

"Well," Luna clucked, going into full kitty mother mode. "First things first. You need to get caught up on your sleep. I don't remember anything else, and you have to stay healthy if we're going to do this properly.

"It is six thirty in the morning. I'll wake you at three. And then I expect you to go shopping for a new window and cat food. I'm starving."

"Yes, mother," Mamoru muttered snidely as he rolled over to go to sleep.

Luna couldn't help but be exasperated with her new charge. She was definitely having a very hard time reconciling with the fact that her great warrior was a rather self-absorbed smart aleck who had a tendency to be insufferably logical.  
But she supposed he was better than nothing... And he had accepted the reincarnation bit surprisingly well. Then again, she supposed he was willing to be more accepting after what had happened last night. Still, she couldn't imagine a more ill-suited candidate for a fantastical fight against monsters from the underworld.

But as she curled up at the edge of his bed, at his feet to try and do something to aide against Mamoru's battle against the cold, she couldn't help but wonder if she was underestimating him... Namely because she couldn't reconcile the look of profound pain on his face.

-----

Mamoru groaned with effort as he loaded about five armfuls of cat supplies into the back of his car. He had purchased a replacement for the broken window an hour before, and then gone to the nearest Pet Shop to get supplies for Luna. He had only expected to be in there to pick up food and a litter box. What else did an immortal talking cat need anyway?

Much to his chagrin, he had begun chatting up a cute salesgirl during his excursion into Pet Land. After all, he had to entertain himself somehow, didn't he? Especially now that he would be facing his doom every night thanks to a very weird twist of fate.

Said cute salesgirl had talked him into buying brushes, ceramic food and water bowls with kitty-esque decorations, a cat bed, a cat tree, treats, vitamins, and a few thousand toy mousies and rubber balls. He had spent an inordinate amount of money on the stupid feline, and he hadn't even gotten a phone number out of the deal.

Clearly, this meant that he was in need of a cup of coffee. And there was only one place in the Juuban district that he cared to have any at, even if it was some of the worst in all of Japan. Mamoru closed the trunk to his car, climbed in, and zipped over to the Crown Arcade and Cafe.

He made it in record time, driving well over the speed limit and giving his horn something to do in the process. It certainly wasn't typical behavior for him, but then Mamoru was no longer a typical man.

He parked about a block away from the Arcade as it was impossible to find a parking place in Tokyo at this time of day. He wouldn't find another one this good for hours, and no bad cup of coffee was worth that effort.

Mamoru got out of the car, readjusting his sunglasses as he did so. He looked around casually, taking in the sights around him. He had once been told by a friend that he needed to stop and smell the roses once in awhile, and he supposed now was as good a time as ever. Besides, he needed to unwind before the caffeine wound him up too tightly.

Mamoru wasn't expecting to see anything of interest, until his eyes fell upon something he had not seen before. He raised a dark eyebrow above the rim of his glasses. He knew that that shop had been empty the last time he had looked at it, but over the course of a few days, someone had apparently opened a flower shop. He couldn't take stock of the merchandise from this far away, but it looked nice enough.

"Hmm..." Mamoru mused. "I am running low on roses..."

Mamoru had always had a love for the flower ever since he could remember. And that was saying something considering how little he recalled. Their scent, their ruby color, the gentle texture and curve of each petal had always brought him comfort. When he was at his darkest, the scent of roses could always lift him up. So, he had never been without roses. He had tended to a rose bush at the orphanage, and just about every room in his apartment sported a vase full of them. However, Mamoru had grown lax as of late. He needed to replace a few of them. And there was a florist right there.

He ventured over to the storefront window, peering in rather conspicuously. He was surprised to find few of the conventional flora within. In fact, the shop was almost entirely full of a startlingly teal flower the likes of which he had never seen before. Then again, he was no horticultural expert. Still, there was something about the large plant that seemed positively alien...

It was interesting, and he would have liked to take a closer look. But he didn't have the time to dawdle anymore. Besides, he had spent more than enough money that day. Mamoru didn't want to make the effort searching for his flower of choice or pry open his wallet again. With a shrug, Mamoru turned away and continued on his less than merry way.

Inside the shop, the shopkeeper scowled and continued watering the plants that were positively alien.

Mamoru opened the door to the Arcade, smirking at the familiar chime of the opening door. Motoki's head snapped over to him at once, a fake smile plastered on his face. Once he recognized the man behind the sunglasses, it became genuine and he waved with the enthusiasm of a five year old at Christmas. Mamoru chuckled at the amusing sight, removing the glasses in such a manner that the few girls in the building gave him a collected appreciative look.

The smirk widened as Mamoru waved back coolly. "Hey Motoki. How's business?"

"Always with the small talk, eh Mamoru?" Motoki chided with a wide grin. "It's the same as it always is. Booming as soon as school lets out. But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

Mamoru shook his head as he sat down at the otherwise empty bar. Motoki set about getting a coffee for his friend, making sure that it was to his exact specifications. "Nah, I was sick last night, so I stayed home today."

Motoki looked up from his work, a look of concern in his eyes. "Are you all right?  
Should you really be out of bed?"

Mamoru couldn't help but smile without any form of cynicism. Motoki had been his best and, truth be told, only real friend since he had left the orphanage. Motoki was an exceptional human being from a good family. They had taught Motoki about generosity, charity, kindness, empathy, and compassion. It had left him a bit of a mother hen, but a truly good man. It almost sounded arbitrary, but he that was what he was. There were many men who could make it into Heaven if it existed, but Motoki was one of the few people who deserved such paradise.

He waved off his fair friend flippantly, saying, "No, I'm fine now. I slept it off. I would have stayed in bed, as I know you would want me to do..."

"Yeah, me and every other doctor in his right mind," Motoki chastised, laying Mamoru's coffee in front of him. "Two creams and all of the sugar in the stockroom."

Mamoru raised the mug in mock toast, swallowing the insanely sweet concoction without flinching. Once the warm sugary liquid slid down his throat, he continued. "Unfortunately, my cat deemed it necessary to wake me up." Mamoru rolled his eyes and added, "She's probably the most annoying feline ever created. And she never shuts--"

"Whoa," Motoki declared, holding up his hands for Mamoru to stop. And it was a good thing seeing as Mamoru had almost said far too much. "You have a cat? Since when?"

"Yesterday," Mamoru said truthfully, taking a sip of his coffee while he collected himself. Luna had warned him about divulging his story to others. He couldn't tell Motoki. He couldn't tell anyone. If they didn't have him committed, it was placing them in clear and present danger.

But he would have liked to have someone share his terrible fate aside from an unsympathetic cat. What did Luna know of life in this time? What did she know of being a human? How could she console him when she couldn't begin to understand all of his demons? She may have been his guardian, or at least that's what she told him, but what use was that?

Mamoru wanted someone who walked on two legs to be with him in this. Yes, they were searching for others, but he didn't want to even begin to speculate on how long that might take. He needed a shoulder now. He needed words of understanding. Who better to give such things than Motoki? He had managed to comprehend and ease all of his troubles before. What would be different this time?

And yet, as Mamoru finally allowed himself to swallow, he knew it couldn't be. It was foolish to imagine. Motoki would never believe this. He barely believed it! Motoki couldn't help him this time. There was nothing anyone could do, save four girls from Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter... And a Princess of the Moon who had lingered in his dreams since he had begun to dream.

Mamoru looked up and smoothly continued in a false narrative, trying to ignore his conscience who saw things only in black and white. "A friend from the orphanage is getting married and his wife is allergic. He called in a favor and I was forced to oblige. He gave me his one cookie we were allowed a year once, and he's never let me forget it."

Motoki chuckled, buying into it. He was so gullible and beyond trusting. Motoki was like a faithful dog. One could scream at it and banish it to the corner on a whim. It would sit there, tail between its legs, whimpering until one called it back. Then the foolish, blissfully happy pup would bark joyfully, wag its tail and act as if nothing ever happened. And for all of Motoki's intuition, he could not see through a poor lie. And he would never guess the truth.

Mamoru had rarely ever felt worse.

"Chiba Mamoru a pet owner... Now I've seen everything," Motoki chuckled, wiping down the counter even though it was spotless. It was a personality quirk that Mamoru had yet to understand. "You know, I had a turtle once."

He groaned, glad for the distraction. "God, not that stupid turtle again."

Motoki straightened, genuinely insulted at Mamoru's words. "He was not stupid! He was my friend. He was like a brother."

"He was a green reptile who lived in a shell. An animal who could never beat a hare in a race, I don't care what the story says," Mamoru drawled. "Now, we are going to stop this conversation. You are not going to regale me with stories of saving him from an unfortunate toilet accident or see pictures of your vacation in Hong Kong."

Motoki glared, but Mamoru saw the corners of his twitching. He was be grinning and laughing soon enough. Although, Mamoru knew that the death of his turtle had been quite a psychological trauma. He still insisted that he was on an extended leave of absence to recover from a nasty case of the flu. In fact, Motoki had nearly burst into tears the one time Mamoru questioned whether or not cold-blooded animals could be feverish. But then, Motoki was lucky if that was the only trauma he had suffered. Very lucky indeed.

Motoki laughed ruefully, running a hand through his corn colored hair. "Okay, I can take a hint... Not that you were that subtle, but I can still take a hint."

"Good," Mamoru assented, taking another sip of his coffee. After that, their conversation lapsed for a moment. Mamoru couldn't bring himself to make small talk when his innards were eating him alive with avarice. It wasn't just lucky that Motoki had escaped life virtually unscathed. It was cosmically unfair. Mamoru knew the query was fruitless and immature, but he couldn't help but want to look up at the sky and ask the gods why it had to be him. Why he had to lose his parents. Why he had lost his memory. Why he had always been alone. Why he had to face the powers of hell.

No, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. And there wasn't a damn thing anyone could do about it.

He managed to refocus. It wasn't the first time that envy had threatened to consume him. Mamoru took another soothing swig of the light brown liquid and breathed. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Motoki staring at him with the same look he had when he read. It was the look he had when he partook in intense scrutiny and was left bewildered at an impossible concept.

"Something's wrong with you," Motoki murmured so softly that Mamoru barely heard it. The man who had been dealt the better hand leaned forward, eyes full of something akin to compassion. "Something's happened hasn't it?"

Mamoru nearly choked. For all of Motoki's blindness, he had the annoying habit of being perceptive when it came to Mamoru's moods.

Little did he know that Mamoru was preoccupied because the Grim Reaper was hounding him, grinning at his door. He had escaped the clutches of the scythe the night before, but how long would he survive alone and ignorant of warfare?

A second life...

A terrible war...

A civilization destroyed...

Blood of a princess...

Sacrifices of soldiers...

Magical felines...

Terrible monsters...

Screaming schoolgirls...

Deadly rose...

Broken glass...

Shattered dreams...

Uncertain future...

"Nothing's wrong. Nothing happened," Mamoru insisted. "I'm fine."

"I don't believe you," Motoki said plainly before Mamoru even managed to get the whole of his sentence out. "Just like I never believe you. But I'm not going to press you... I know that doesn't work."

"Damn straight," Mamoru muttered before he could stop himself.

Motoki snorted slightly, glancing over at the door as it chimed. His eyes lit up briefly, but he remained with Mamoru for a moment. "You'll tell me when you're ready. But if you need help, don't wait too long to ask for it."

Then Motoki went over to greet his newest customer. He knew whoever it was fairly well as he prattled on in a cheery voice about some new magical girl fighter game. Mamoru didn't dare turn his head to look after his best friend. He feared that Motoki would turn and see his expression. Mamoru couldn't begin to describe it, but it would be all too revealing. His face would clearly read something no human being enjoyed knowing...

He needed help, but there was absolutely nothing he could do.

"REALLY MOTOKI?! A NEW SAILOR V GAME?!"

Mamoru did choke on his coffee this time, cringing at the horrid, high pitched squeal that had been haunting him all day. He turned roughly, coughing and sputtering as if he was drowning. He didn't want to believe it was her. But when he saw those wide, childish eyes and unconventional hairstyle, he knew it had to be. He felt rather like cursing like he had never cursed before, but something within him told him it would be a terrible sin to strip away any more of her innocence.

The blonde looked over at the sound of his suffering and Mamoru promptly stopped flailing about. She blinked, eyes widening even more. She even went so far as to point at him like she was accusing him of being a witch in Salem. She walked up angrily and shouted, "You! What are you doing here?"

Mamoru just stared at her. He couldn't really stop coughing, but he was attracting so much attention thanks to that girl that he quickly switched over to clearing his throat.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place again... He didn't know how to respond the question. Yes, he felt hugely guilty over being so cruel to her the day before. Of course, if he had known that she was going to be at death's door thanks to a minion from hell several hours after that, he wouldn't have sought his revenge for making his day so miserable with quite as much zeal. But at the same time, he couldn't very well apologize to her...

He couldn't come up with a very good reason behind this theory of course, but that was largely irrelevant to the problem at hand.

"Breathing," Mamoru choked out, wheezing slightly. He held up the remnants of his coffee in a mock toast and added, "And attempting to have a cup of coffee just to break the monotony."

She didn't respond to that, giving him a blank look. He supposed that was the sort of answer people couldn't respond to.

"Wow Mamoru, that was almost funny," Motoki quipped. "So, I take it you two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Usagi spit acidly before turning on her heel and walking back to the other area of the cafe where all of the arcade games were. Mamoru watched her go with her head held high in the air, her corn silk pigtails swishing back and forth, and her briefcase hitting some unsuspecting boy in the head. She didn't seem to notice.

Motoki chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "That girl... She always brightens my day."

And Mamoru once again questioned his friend's sanity. However, he was smart enough to know better than to ask that aloud. Instead, he gestured after her as she sat down at a console, clapping her hands gleefully and feeding money into the machine.  
"You know her?"

"Sure," Motoki said with a shrug, moving back behind the counter. "Girls don't usually come in here that often unless they want a milkshake or something. She was one of the first to actually venture into the other realm."

As Motoki began busying himself with other things, Mamoru narrowed his eyes. He did recall something about that... Motoki had a tendency to ramble on about work, and Mamoru had a tendency to ignore him. Still, that was one of the few tangents that he'd actually paid attention. He remembered Motoki talking about a blonde playing video games and causing quite a stir. Was she that girl?

"What's her name?" Mamoru asked suddenly.

Motoki raised an eyebrow. "You don't know her name?"

Mamoru almost laughed a little at that. Motoki did have a point, though he would probably never understand it. It was rather odd to think that he had saved her life the night before and he didn't even know what her parents called her. He had seen her test paper, but he hadn't gotten a good enough look at it to see what her name was.

"We only met yesterday," Mamoru explained. "I called her Odango Atama. She wasn't too willing to divulge her name after that."

"Odango Atama?" Motoki repeated, laughing. "Well, what do you know? That is funny! I wish I'd thought of it."

"Best let the girl hate me and myself alone," Mamoru reasoned. "Now come on. Who is she?"

Motoki hesitated slightly, but he relented soon enough. "Her name is Tsukino Usagi. Anything more and you'll have to ask her yourself. It looks like the Crane Game is broken again." With that, Motoki grabbed the toolkit he kept under the counter and went over to aid the flailing ten year old before he threw a fit.

And so Mamoru was left with nothing to do but watch the aging child known as Tsukino Usagi. She played the game with a vivaciousness that he felt was uncommon for so trivial a thing. She would whoop with each triumph and bemoan her inadequacies with each loss. Her eyes now had passion in them that she had lacked before. He had to admit that had it been about anything else it would have been becoming.

But now it just sickened him.

Is this what he had saved her for? To play video games and go through life like a spoiled brat entirely unchanged from what she had been before? She had witnessed something born out of the darkest depths of night terrors, and yet she was not affected in the slightest. It was still business as usual.

How could she be so flippant? So flighty? How could she not be wandering around with a profound sense of her own mortality? How could she go on acting like life was normal when it was anything but and she alone knew it? How could she look on a demon from hell and not be changed?

She should have been living out 'carpe diem.' She should have seized the day. She should be living life to the fullest instead of rotting her brain cells by shooting at little snakes or hamsters or whatever else was the enemy in video games these days. He didn't know what he would ask an eighth grader to do, but it wouldn't have been this.

She should have had that same arresting passion in her eyes from the moment she had left that Jewelry Shop. She should have been on fire of every moment in her day. She should have been determined. She should have yearned. She should have hungered and thirsted for something profound. And she should have the look of someone who had been given a great gift. Life. They had all been given it, but she should have had the sense to realize how great it was and thanked God or whoever else for it in every breath and every gesture and every action.

But no. Instead she had the same vacant, dispassionate, terrifyingly apathetic gaze every ordinary teenager had. He could have forgiven her before. But now? When she was no longer just another face in the crowd? Now when she was a survivor? When she had nearly been a martyr?

He couldn't forgive her now.

It filled him with rage unlike that which he was accustomed to. He wanted to throttle her. He wanted to beat her. He wanted to shake her until she realized the gift she had been given and what her "adventure" the night before meant.

Before he knew what he was doing, Mamoru was on his feet stalking up to Usagi who was lost in the magical world where the press of a button killed the monsters. Both of them knew that it took one hefty shard of glass and a rose of all things to do the job properly. He was suddenly behind her as she got out of her seat, standing up to face animated creature no bigger than her thumb. Her tongue had escaped the confines of her mouth, a look of intense concentration and determination on her face. She was muttering under her breath, encouraging herself, willing the monsters dead...

Mamoru was reaching out to her, though he didn't know what they would do once they found her. But he stopped... He hardly considered himself an expert on psychology. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was fighting these monsters because she had been unable to face the real ones... And not just the one that had tried to kill her the night before.

But then why did she seem so happy?

Usagi groaned as her character died at the hands of some Snake Monster that had slithered out of nowhere. She sat down again, leaning back in lamentation of her loss. She ran into his hand and spun around in her seat, wondering who was behind her. Her peppy curiosity quickly morphed to disgust and impatience. "What do you want?"

Mamoru knew then that he would not lay a hand on her.

"Nothing," he said quickly, turning to go. "Nothing at all."

Her curiosity came back with a vengeance, but she did not abandon her previous feelings of him. She tilted her head to the side and stopped him before he left. "You're really strange. Did you know?"

Mamoru snorted slightly. Well, he wouldn't begrudge her that insight. "You have no idea."

She nodded as if this confirmed her assessment. "Very strange."

Mamoru shrugged and sighed slightly. "Whatever you say, Odango Atama."

Now, he hadn't actually meant to say that. Really, insulting her had been the furthest thing from his mind. But Mamoru had been thinking of her by that name for nearly twenty four hours. It was incredibly difficult for a human being to change their initial perception of another human being in five minutes. And he had never been all that good with names to begin with... So he really couldn't be blamed for the accidental slip of the time.

However, that didn't seem to matter to Tsukino Usagi.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

He winced as her voice shot up a few octaves. Once again, Mamoru found himself flailing for how to respond. It turned out that was unnecessary as Usagi was not anywhere near finished with him.

The blonde leapt to her feet and rose up to her full height, which wasn't at all imposing even when she stood on tip toes. She glared at him, poked him in the chest, and began ranting at the top of her lungs. Once again, she had managed to attract everyone's attention. She seemed to have knack for it.

"Look mister," she began, clenching her teeth. "I don't know who you are. I don't know why you seem to get such a kick out of irritating me. But I will say that you are with a doubt the rudest person I have ever met! You are also insufferable, cruel, unpleasant, annoying, arrogant, horrid, irritating, hateful, terrible, and downright evil human being! You don't have a shred of moral decency, and I can't stand you! Which is ridiculous because I don't even know your name! And I don't want to learn it!"

Usagi stood there with her chest heaving and her eyes blazing for a few minutes. Several people left the building. Other people quietly applauded the performance. Motoki seemed to find this predicament incredibly amusing and was trying to suppress his laughter. He wasn't doing a good job.

Still, in spite of the public humiliation, Mamoru was almost happy that he had done this. After all, she had that passion again... As a matter of fact, had he been a lesser man, he would have actually said, 'You know, you're beautiful when you're angry.'

Of course, he didn't. He would have sooner thrown himself in front of a semi. It was a horrible line. And considering he had used plenty of them, he knew a horrible line when he heard one.

"Now," Usagi intoned, once again thrusting her nose into the air. "I am going to leave. I am going to forget about you. And I am going to feel nothing but hatred for you until my dying day."

Mamoru almost questioned her logic, but decided that he probably couldn't pull off the rugged black eye look.

Usagi gathered up her things, sent an especially high pitched 'hmph' in his general direction, and continued on her less than merry way with her nose high in the air. As it turned out, she had come up with better ideas in her time. For as Mamoru wisely got out of Usagi's way, she stepped forward not noticing what on the ground in front of her. Within seconds, the room filled with her soprano scream and an inhuman yowl. Usagi attempted to regain her balance, arms flapping willy nilly and her eyes rolling around in her head, but it was no use. She soon found herself falling forward rapidly, landing on her nose with her legs dangling up in the air. As she was wearing a skirt, she was the rather unwelcome victim of more than one voyeuristic teenage boys would had never seen such things before and would never see it again.

Mamoru barked something highly offensive and quite frightening, sending them dashing out of the store. He was about to move forward and help her up before any there was any more embarrassment to be had... When he noticed what she had stepped on.

"Luna!"

Mamoru bent down to pick up the cat who now had a footprint across her face and a number of crooked whiskers. She was meowing painfully, but the look on her face said all that needed to be said. She blamed him for all of this.

He would have dropped her if she hadn't been sure to land on her feet.

"Usagi!" Motoki cried out as he dashed forward. He turned out to be a better man as he helped to pick her up off the floor, behaving the perfect gentleman as always. Usagi's face was solid red, and she looked slightly disoriented. "Are you hurt? Are you all right?"

Usagi mumbled a few incoherent thoughts for a few seconds before shaking her head like she was trying to get soap out of her ears. She then turned to Motoki... and her face got a little more red.

"Oh brother," Mamoru muttered quietly. He knew that look. Poor Motoki.

"Motoki..." she said breathlessly, her eyes very nearly changing from ovals to little hearts. "Thank you so much for helping me. You're so kind." She then glared at him and if life had been better to Tsukino Usagi, he would have dropped dead immediately. "Unlike some people!"

Mamoru supposed he deserved that. And yet he couldn't help but defend himself. "I was trying to help my cat. You know, the one you stepped on?"

Usagi snarled and ground out, "As if that's any excuse for just leaving me there, you-- Oh, what an adorable kitty!"

Usagi's malice towards him seemed entirely forgotten once she laid eyes on the dark feline. Her eyes lit up with a squeal of delight. She lifted the cat from his arms before he could protest. Luna meowed uncomfortably as she was still in quite a lot of pain. That quickly changed as Usagi held her lovingly, scratching her under her chin gently. The cat began purring without shame or pride inhibiting her. She seemed to grow better under Usagi's arms.

"Who's a pretty kitty? Who's a pretty kitty?" Usagi cooed in a voice even higher than the one she normally spoke in. Mamoru couldn't help but wince. The blonde didn't notice, however, and turned back to him, questioning, "Is she yours?"

"As of yesterday," Mamoru said in a confused tone of voice. How could she stand to switch from one emotion to the next like that and not get dizzy? He looked up at Motoki. However, he was obviously used to this behavior and saw nothing wrong with it.

Usagi looked him up and down as one would look at an inconveniently placed bit of road kill. "I didn't expect so horrible a person would have such a sweet kitty."

"Life's just full of surprises," Mamoru muttered, glaring at Luna as discreetly as one could glare. She didn't notice however. Her eyes were closed in bliss as Usagi continued her affectionate gestures she would probably never receive from her current owner.

Usagi proceeded to continue to make a fool out of herself, making humiliating kissing noises at the cat and hugging her like she was a stuffed animal, though with more regard for her existence. "Oh..." Usagi lamented miserably after awhile. "I wish I had a kitty..."

Mamoru's eyes lit up in a mad, desperate scheme. He knew it couldn't possibly work, but he was going to follow through with it anyway. Probably all thanks in whole to the sugar rush he was now experiencing as the coffee finally kicked in.

"You want her? Take her. Please."

Luna's head swung over at Mamoru. The two blondes present were quite surprised at her reaction. They would later swear she had actually understood what he had said. She wriggled out of a shocked Usagi's arms. Without much ceremony or regard for Mamoru's bruised body, Luna leapt onto his shoulder. Once she was settled, she dug her claws into his flesh, causing Mamoru to cry out in pain. Luna released him immediately, leaving him to contend with the bewildered looks of the patrons, Motoki, and Usagi.

"Heh. Kidding."

-----

"What is this I hear of a new plan, Jadeite?"

Beryl's voice echoed in a manner that chilled the bones of even the cold blooded youma who were so used to it. The inner sanctum was still surprisingly empty in spite of the fact that the hordes of demons resided there, feeding and sweating and grunting and partaking in whatever other activities they found empty pleasure in not fifty feet from their queen's sight. But then youma had never had any sense of shame or propriety. They were all disfigured, demented versions of Adam and Eve in a garden of sewage and bone.

Four men were an exception to the rule. They were the only true humans who resided in the rank depths of the underworld. Only one of them was bowed reverently before the queen, just as he had been the day before. And just as before, three men watched from the boundary between the Queen's domain and the demon breeding ground. One regarded him with distant paternal expectations while the other simply hoped that he would fail. The third and final simply worried and said nothing to his companions on that subject.

"I do, my queen," Jadeite intoned respectfully, rising from the floor to face the voluptuous, dreadful monarch. "I have already implemented a plan. It has yielded us twice as much energy as the last failed attempt did and gathers more even as we speak."

"Yes," Beryl hissed, her voice dropping several octaves. "What was it that went wrong with that plan, Jadeite? I expected better from you."

Jadeite swallowed and did his best to ignore his male ego in these moments of terror. "I believe the flaw in that operation was that the collection all began at the same time. It attracted too much attention yielding... an unforeseen consequence."

"Ah," Beryl said, her tone less menacing and more titillated. It didn't throw Jadeite in the slightest. "The masked man... I take it we know nothing of him as before?"

"Correct, your majesty," Jadeite acquiesced, inclining his head yet again. "But I beg you my queen, do not focus on the shortcomings of the last operation. Let us turn to this one."

"Yes, of course," Queen Beryl agreed amicably. That did seem strange to him given his previous failure. It worried him, but he could say nothing. "Continue."

Jadeite nodded and proceeded to explain his plan. "I have set up a flower shop in an empty building in Tokyo. It is in a highly populated area and should attract a lot of attention..." He pulled his hand from behind his back to show her a large turquoise flower. The veins that criss-crossed across he six petals were bright orange to match the large center. He didn't have to ask the queen if she recognized the bloom.

"The Dormiens Blossom," Beryl remarked, impressed. "I was unaware that we had been able to cultivate those in this inclement weather. I take it that this is the center of your plan?"

"Yes," Jadeite blurted, nodding eagerly. "A victim will buy the flower and take it home. The Dormiens Blossom will release its pollen. They will inhale it, and it will drain their energy. It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours depending on how much they inhale. This way, that Tuxedo Kamen character will not be able to trace back the cause for the wave of exhaustion coursing through the Juuban District."

Queen Beryl nodded, clearly approving of this plan. "And this plant has already given us fruit, so to speak?"

"We have energy, my queen. Not a lot I fear, but this could go on for weeks undetected. We will have enough."

"See to it that we do," Beryl barked, causing Jadeite to jump. Some of the youma who had been paying attention hissed and did their best to blend into the crown. There was not one among them who did not fear their Queen's wrath.

Jadeite nodded slowly, a little shaken from her sudden outburst. One would think that he would have been immune to such things by now, but clearly that wasn't so. He supposed one could never be prepared for Queen Beryl. He bowed deeply and pronounced, "With your permission, majesty, I wish to depart and monitor this mission's progress."

"Yes, of course," Beryl commented absently, waving her hand as if the matter was not her concern. And in fact, it wasn't so that really wasn't anything remarkable. "And Jadeite?"

"Yes?"

"Do not fail me again."

Jadeite flinched slightly at her cold apathy. He knew in his heart, assuming of course that he still had one, that Beryl could replace him at any time. There were others just like him who waiting for their chance. Beryl had no love lost on any single one of them. She would sell them as easily as her own mother. Then again, Beryl would not be kind enough to simply give them away.

Jadeite vanished in a flash of red before he could think on that any longer.

From there, he teleported to his quarters. They were carved out of the unforgiving stone just as the rest of the citadel had been. Blessedly, the youma could not roam there unless he or one of the other kings called them. Unlike some of his colleagues, Jadeite was not adverse to calling upon one of the more relatable among their overwhelmingly idiotic brethren for entertainment of a carnal nature. Youma were viscous and insatiable. Sometimes that wasn't a bad thing.

Jadeite smirked slightly, but put those thoughts out of his mind. They had served their purpose in banishing all remembrances of Beryl's unrelenting stare and passionate ambivalence to his life. Now was not to a time for thought but action.

He entered his living area, breezing by the chamber moderately decorated in lush reds that stood out like blood against the ebony rock. He paid it no mind as he had gazed upon it many times. It had failed to impress him or anyone else. Blood was not an uncommon sight in the bowels of the Dark Kingdom.

The member of the elite Shittennou continued walking through the living quarters and into an empty room. The ceiling stretched up far beyond where his eyes could see. It was lacking in any furniture whatsoever. But then this room was not meant for lounging about. It was meant for storage.

Jadeite thrust out his right hand and briskly gathered up all traces of energy in the room. They flew to him at his beckoning call. The azure waves twisted and spiraled together to form a living, glowing ball of energy equivalent to the size of a large man's fist. Seconds later, it grew and more energy appeared in the chamber. As planned, his youma had sent forth the new energy at the appointed time.

He smirked in the dim light as the sphere grew ever larger. Within minutes, it was just a shade smaller than his head. He was quite pleased with himself. Granted, the plan would not yield massive amounts of energy at a time. But over the course of a few Terran weeks, they would have amassed a large amount. And this time, they would not have to worry about attracting too much attention and bring down their enemy upon them.

Jadeite sneered at that thought, barely resisting the urge to spit in a temper. Tuxedo Kamen... Who was Tuxedo Kamen? They had known nothing of any sort of defenses that the Earth had against them. All had assumed that the energy collection would be all too simple. The humans would not even know what was happening before it was all over. The Dark Kingdom would be energized and her Empress refreshed. A dark shadow would fall over the land and with the flick of a wrist, the Earth would be theirs. And all thanks to Jadeite...

But no. Some strange man in a cheesy top hat and an impractical cape had come along and ruined everything. He had nearly cost Jadeite his life. Yes, the Queen had been surprisingly forgiving of his failure. But he knew that underneath her cool visage boiled a fury no god could match. He was also aware that Kunzite, his leader and friend, had been the one thing standing between him and death. Zoicite had been unfeeling enough to tell Jadeite how close he had been to slaughter earlier that day. He did it to annoy him, but he did not know how much he terrified. The thought of dying so soon after beginning... It was incredible! Absurd! And yet it would dog him every second of every day until he truly succeeded. He would fight. He would win. And he would survive this war if it killed him.

"Jadeite."

He jumped again, dropping his hand. The energy fled his grasp immediately, but he had been finished with the collection anyway. Jadeite raised his hand to fight, and only lowered it when the speaker raised his own hand, a tiny hot white ball of light shining there. It was bright enough to cast eerie shadows about the room resembling the monsters they courted. It revealed his sudden companion easily enough.

Jadeite breathed a sigh of relief, willing his heart rate to slow down. It was silly of him to fret really. Only other Shittennou would or could venture here. "Nephrite... It's only you."

The auburn haired general raised an eyebrow, but as always he failed to look the least bit amused. "I scared you?"

"You startled me," Jadeite corrected swiftly, his male ego coming back into play. "Did you want something, Nephrite? I'm busy, so it isn't as if I can just--"

"I'm aware," Nephrite interrupted, his voice grave. Normally this would not have perturbed Jadeite in the least. Nephrite was a bit of a fatalist. He had a tendency to make good news sound like it was a terminal cancer. Yet, there was something in his posture or his ice blue eyes that made Jadeite nervous... again.

He was wondering if this ordeal was going to make him a trembling, sobbing wreck before it was all over. "What is it?"

Nephrite sighed, studying a rather interesting crack in the floor for a fleeting second. Then he looked back up at his fellow Shittennou and said, "I think you are setting yourself up for your own doom."

Jadeite stared at him for a moment. Nephrite's choices of linguistics never failed to astonish him. He snorted, shaking his head with a smirk. "Oh Nephrite... You always know how to cheer me up. Now do be sure not to tell me how handsome I am. You might depress me."

"I'm serious," Nephrite persisted.

"Oh, come off it, Nephrite!" Jadeite shouted, laughing in spite of his friend's lack of humor about anything. "You think everything I do will inevitably result in my doom."

Nephrite narrowed his eyes and tensed. "Jadeite, not everything about your mannerisms and character will kill you. Most will, but not all. Nevertheless, I fear that your plans to collect energy for Queen Beryl will be your end if you do not change them soon."

Jadeite had been prepared to simply walk away from Nephrite and leave him to his own death proclamations. But for whatever reason this intrigued Jadeite. He walked forward, eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "What do you mean?"

"You are taking energy from many people at a time," Nephrite continued without pause. "That is bound to attract attention. Even in such a way as this where it does not all happen at once, someone is going to notice. And that someone just might be that Tuxedo Kamen who ruined the last plan."

Jadeite waved Nephrite off. "I don't perceive that he will be a threat to me in the future."

Before Jadeite could as much as blink, Nephrite's hand was gripping Jadeite's arm like a vice. The blond was strong in his own right, arguably stronger than Nephrite. He did not flinch. Still, it was enough to catch him off guard. It gave the darker man a chance to speak on. "Jadeite, we don't know who we're dealing with. For all we know there could be more like him. Don't be a fool and underestimate your enemies."

Jadeite pulled away, narrowing his eyes at the man angrily. He had humored him out of friendship, but now he was bordering on being insulting. "I would say something similar to you... Do not be a fool, Nephrite, and underestimate your allies... and your superiors."

With that, Jadeite turned on his heel and stalked out. Nephrite watched him go, noting the hunch in shoulders. The man was clearly fuming... But Nephrite could not stand idly by and watch him do something idiotic. Zoicite was the ruthlessly ambitious one. Not Nephrite. He considered Jadeite a friend. He didn't want that to end for any reason.

"I pray that the stars do not foretell my taking up your mantle, Jadeite."

-----

Mamoru had decided to leave after the somewhat humiliating encounter with that weird girl... What was her name again? He was so dreadful with names... Then again, even if he did remember her name, he would have continued to call her Odango Atama because he was clearly a closet masochist of some sort.

He would have stopped thinking of her some time ago had the pretty blonde not, for whatever reason, decided to follow him outside the Arcade. Luna, in spite of making it quite clear that living with the girl was not an option, had left Mamoru's shoulder. She had made some rather predictable remark about the spot being cold and migrated to a better climate.

"You are just the prettiest little thing I've ever seen!" Usagi gushed in one of the most annoying baby-talk voices he had ever heard in his time on the Earth. "Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"

"I'm sure the cat is well aware of how attractive she is," Mamoru drawled as he put his sunglasses back on.

He could feel Usagi glaring into his back. "You never told me what her name is," she remarked.

"Luna," Mamoru answered before bothering to ponder if maybe he should have kept this information to himself. He was new at this super hero business. He wasn't entirely sure what he was allowed to tell people and what he should keep to himself anymore. Still, he was quite sure that asking the feline at this point would have defeated the purpose of that.

Usagi clucked her tongue as if in thought. "Luna, huh? That's an elegant name. How did you come up with it?"

Mamoru very nearly said that Luna had told him. The words were on his lips, but he stopped himself just in time. He launched into another coughing fit, shrugging to save himself from being asked again. He was really bad at lying off the cuff.

"Oh, I bet I know!" Usagi squealed, apparently quite pleased with herself. "It's because of her little crescent moon bald spot, isn't it?"

Mamoru heard an indignant meow from behind him. He could barely contain his laughter, but somehow managed it. He would be sure to make fun of Luna the moment he was alone with her again. That was priceless... A bald spot...

"What made you decide to get a cat?" Usagi queried, completely unaware that the midnight bundle perched on her shoulder was giving her the evil eye. "You seem like the kind of guy who would rather have some kind of deadly boa constrictor or something."

Mamoru sighed and finally decided that she had followed him for long enough. He was almost to his car, and while he had saved her life, he didn't necessarily enjoy her company. He spun around, smirking slightly due to the comically infuriated expression on Luna's fuzzy face. "As much as I relish in listening to your assessment of my character through my choices of pets, why are you following me?"

She shrugged. He couldn't help but think that she looked quite adorable, although completely clueless. "I don't want you to lose Luna."

"Yes, I understand that," Mamoru said in clipped tones. "But you followed me out of the Arcade. You don't like me. You don't even know my name. Why are you following me?"

Again, Usagi just shrugged.

Mamoru rubbed his temples. "And you think I'm impossible."

"I don't think," Usagi quipped smartly. "I know."

Mamoru decided that it was better in the long run if he just pretended that she hadn't said that. "Look, I appreciate you going out of your way to make sure that my cat and I were safely reunited. But if you want her, you can have her."

Luna lowered the paw she had raised in order to take a gentle swipe at Usagi's ear in retaliation for the bald spot comment. She turned to Mamoru and gave him a glare far worse than any she could conjure up for irritating blonde.

He leaned in and added, "I would be better off without her."

The black cat blanched, looking stung from the comment for a brief moment. However, the pain quickly vanished and was replaced with the less than threatening scowl.

Usagi actually stomped her foot, putting her hands on her hips. "You take that back! That's a horrible thing to say in front of her!"

"Oh, for the love of-- She's a cat!" Of course, Mamoru did realize the irony in his insulting Luna's intelligence given that her vocabulary was broader than his own. But the comment had been a knee jerk reaction. One that he would pay for since he would be taking the cat home with him. He had spent a ton of money on her after all. He wasn't going to give her away only to find out it was all nonrefundable. Better to just take her and take his beating as it were.

"Cats are people too!" Usagi insisted.

Mamoru felt a migraine coming on. He would probably regret this later, but sadly, the coffee had not improved his disposition as he had hoped. "I want you to think long and hard about that statement. When you figure out what's wrong with it, I want you to hit yourself. Now then, if you'll excuse me, Odango Atama, I'll just be taking my cat and--"

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" Usagi screamed into Luna's ear as Mamoru lifted the cat off of her shoulder at that precise moment. The medical student hoped that her eardrums weren't permanently damaged. "And I'm not so sure if you should take that cat with you. You're not very nice to her."

"I'm in a bad mood," Mamoru explained. "Nosey blondes and bad coffee have that effect on me."

Usagi very nearly snarled at him. "I am not nosey!"

Mamoru just looked at her.

"Well," she relented. "All right. I'm curious. I admit that."

"The first step is admitting you have a problem," Mamoru said with a wide grin as Luna crawled up on to his shoulders. "I'm proud of you. Really I am. But I will be going now with my cat."

Usagi regarded him with suspicion. She looked over at Luna who was currently making herself comfortable. She didn't seem panic stricken or afraid of him. And Mamoru didn't appear to be one step away from throwing her into moving traffic. She softened her gaze ever so slightly and said, "Promise me you'll take care of her?"

Mamoru blinked and regarded the girl with surprise. She was a bundle of contradictions. At first she appeared to be selfish as most teenagers tended to be, and then she went and showed genuine concern for an animal. And unlike the Nun in Chaucer's masterpiece, she wasn't being pretentious.

Had she changed? Or had she always been this way? Had she always been so refreshingly different? Every human being had multiple layers of course, but had this one always been there, recently added, or just brought to the forefront after a near death experience? Even if he could ask her, he would never know. She could not answer a question of that nature.

He couldn't help but marvel at it, no matter what the cause of it was. He had taken an immediate dislike to this girl. He'd met her on a bad day and then seen her again on a day far worse. In retrospect, he had been a mite bit too callous. It was too late to go back and change it now. He would always be little more than arrogant jerk who enjoyed tormenting young girls. And though he was loathe to admit, he almost cared about the girl's opinion now that he knew that she would show so much genuine concern for a cat she didn't even know.

Mamoru shook off the alien thoughts. A fourteen year old's opinion did not matter to him, no matter how kind she may have been. She was still young. She was still painfully innocent in spite of the horrors she had seen. And it almost hurt to look at her.

"I promise."

Usagi smiled brightly. He dropped his gaze. "All right then... I hope I see your kitty around." She soured. "I could do without seeing you again though."

No, her opinion definitely did not matter.

"I'll keep that in mind," Mamoru said dryly. He then turned, preparing to leave when she stopped him one last time.

"What is your name anyway?" Usagi asked. "My curiosity is getting the best of me."

Mamoru nodded and didn't look at her. "Yes, I suppose it is... It's Chiba Mamoru."

Usagi seemed to pause for a moment, as if pondering whether or not she approved of the name. He hated it when people did that. It was his name, and he didn't really care whether or not they liked it. It wasn't like he could change it like his beloved green tweed jacket (which was stylish no mater what Motoki's girlfriend told him).

"Something wrong?" Mamoru asked testily, turning his head.

Usagi looked up at him, squeaking quietly. She laughed slightly and said, "I was just wondering if I could come up with some kind of horribly annoying nickname for you."

Mamoru stared at her for a minute and then chuckled as he turned to leave. She really was childish, wasn't she? "Let me know if you come up with anything, Odango."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Mamoru didn't remark, instead choosing to wave at her over his head. He heard her huff in frustration and turn on her heel. Her feet pounded against the pavement, but they stopped at abruptly for one reason or another. He didn't pay it any mind as he was too busy ignoring the negative vibes coming off Luna as plainly as anything he could actually lay his hands on.

He got into the car and promptly shut the door. The moment he did so, Luna hopped off his shoulders and proceeded to admonish him for not getting back at the time he said he would be back. She also felt that it was her duty to mention that he had been, to be frank, downright rude to that poor girl. This led to another,  
entirely unrelated rant about how uncouth today's youth could sometimes be, remarking on one's flaws when they weren't even flaws.

Mamoru was not listening.

As he adjusted his review mirror and buckled himself in, still ignoring Luna, he happened to glance over at the new flower shop. Lo and behold, there was Usagi staring at the exotic bloom with wide eyes. Clearly, she had never seen anything like it either, but he took that in stride. He sincerely doubted she had seen anything other than sakura blossoms and wild flowers in real life, only knowing of roses from romantic movies.

He sighed and rolled his eyes at her and the blabbering cat beside him. Before he could become distracted again, Mamoru hit the gas, causing Luna to become plastered to the leather of the passenger's seat. She was still screaming, but now it was muffled and drowned out by the radio. He glanced in his mirrors one more time to catch a glimpse of the blonde shaking her head and walking away... and the storeowner giving her a very sharp look indeed.

Mamoru arched an eyebrow, surprised at this behavior. She was lucky Usagi had not seen or she would have lost a potential customer.

Then again, he supposed that he had to forgive. After all, the two of them had probably had very bad days.

-----

Mamoru arrived for his Human Physiology lecture the next day armed to the teeth with note taking materials. He had never had any parents hovering over him to constantly to push him to his limits. He had never once heard any sane person who wasn't a fellow classmate utter the words, "A 'B' is not acceptable!" Every ounce of drive he had in him was self-inflicted... or perhaps inherited.

Either way, Chiba Mamoru was determined to make up for last Wednesday's fiasco. He strode into the small lecture hall, not even glancing up to look at his professor. He sat down in the first row, dead center and proceeded to unload his bag. He pulled out his textbook, a notebook, a variety of pens and highlighters that would have made an art major drool, and a tape recorder. He laid out all of the objects on his relatively small desk space, slipped on his reading glasses, and sat back. He was poised to record just about anything the professor threw at him.

He finally looked up at his professor, a rather round man with slowly graying hair by the name of Akigawa Mareo. He had a reputation for favoritism and completely lacking in even the slightest hint of a sense of humor. Normally, this didn't bother Mamoru because he had a tendency to reap the benefits of favoritism, and he wasn't very funny anyway. Unfortunately, judging by the death glare Akigawa was giving him, he had a feeling he had fallen from grace.

Mamoru had never really enjoyed being a teacher's pet without putting forth any effort in brownnosing, but he missed it already.

"Chiba," Akigawa said coldly, speaking volumes in two syllables.

Mamoru nodded curtly. "Akigawa-sensei."

Their conversation ended there as the rest of the class began to file in. He waved to the few of them he associated himself with, once again wondering how he and Motoki could have the exact same major and have absolutely no classes together. He noted that several of them looked as if they had started partying one day too early, including Watanabe Kagami.

He was quite surprised that the normally neurotically dedicated student actually looked as if she hadn't slept in days. Her dirty blonde hair was normally frizzy and unkempt, but it actually looked unwashed, which was definitely out of character. She sat down beside him... Well, plopped was a more apt description actually. He nearly asked what was wrong, but Akigawa started lecturing.

Mamoru uncapped two pens and highlighter, flipped open his notebook, and turned on the tape recorder. Without missing a beat he began scribbling in a shorthand that he scarcely understood and tuned just about everything else out.

"A wide variety of physiological processes are carried out unconsciously by the endocrine system through chemical messengers called hormones. The endocrine system is a collection of glands that produces these hormones, which are necessary for normal bodily functions. The hormones regulate metabolism, growth and sexual development. These glands release the hormones directly into the bloodstream, where they are transported to organs and tissues throughout the entire body."

Akigawa flipped through his own notes, apparently having memorized his opening lines as usual. Now he was forced to read off his writings verbatim for the next hour and a half. Mamoru nearly took the time to highlight various points that may or may not have been important, but then he took a good look around the room.

The lecture hall was relatively small compared to others, but it actually looked vast at that moment... Because it was practically empty. Nearly a third of the class had opted not to come to class that day. And a number of them had already dozed off. Mamoru furrowed his brow. Was there some kind of virus going around?

He heard a small thunk to his left and glanced over. Kagami hadn't even started taking notes and had only now reached for her notebook... Knocking it off her desk in the process. Being the perfect gentleman that he was, Mamoru swiftly leaned over and picked it up. As he handed it to her, he whispered, "Are you all right?"

Kagami nearly responded in what looked like it would be a false affirmative, when Akigawa cleared his throat loudly. Both students sat at attention, Kagami having to put forth a lot more effort into it than usual.

The professor shook his head, clearly disapproving of their behavior, but felt that it didn't warrant commentary. He turned to his notes and started droning on about the pituitary gland.

Mamoru did his best to concentrate, but he found himself almost entirely absorbed in the largely unattractive girl sitting next to him. Upon closer inspection, he realized that her clothes had obviously been yanked out of a hamper and her socks were mismatched. Kagami was not only practically phobic about being dirty, but she was obsessed with matching. Granted, she still wore oversized sweaters and tapered jeans, but she had never looked this bad. Then there was the oily sheen on her face, the dark circles under her eyes, and the tears seeping out of her right eye, a sure sign that her contact was irritating her.

He narrowed his eyes and continued to watch her out of his peripheral vision. This was about as out of character as anyone could get. Kagami was staring off into space, moving her pencil across the paper, but doing little more than draw a very jagged looking tornado. Kagami would sooner her throw herself off Tokyo Tower than space out during a lecture.

"Next is the thymus gland," Akigawa drawled loudly, obviously trying to wake up the students who were sleeping. He succeeded for all of three seconds and then they were all asleep again.

Kagami was startled by the sudden volume change. She dropped her pen on the right side of her desk where the other seat was empty. Mamoru certainly couldn't get up and hand it to her. That would have just looked strange. Still, he watched her as she leaned over to pick it up...

And promptly toppled out of the desk.

"After which we--" Akigawa stopped, his eyes going wide behind his bifocals. He paused for a full seven seconds as the other students giggled and gasped while Kagami struggled to get to her feet. Seeing that this was not going to happen without assistance, Mamoru hopped out of his desk and offered her an arm. Even with this added help, Kagami still nearly paid another homage to the floor.

"Watanabe," Akigawa uttered coolly. "I realize that gravity is a cruel mistress; however--"

"I'm very sorry, Akigawa-sensei." Kagami flushed, still hanging on to Mamoru. He was quite sure that if he did let go, she'd be crumpled at his feet. He couldn't help but stare along with the other thirty students that were actually awake. "I'll-- I'll be all right in a minute."

Akigawa glared at her over the gold wire rims of his glasses. He had never been a very forgiving individual. "No, I think not. Watanabe, I don't know how you've been choosing to spend your nights, and I don't care. But I do care when my students decide to show up to class when they can barely stand. This lecture is over. Expect a test on the Endocrine system next Monday."

And with that, Akigawa collected his things and walked out, leaving the rest of them bewildered and more than a little upset. The rest of the students filed out, waking up their sleeping companions, and grumbling about the unfairness of the situation. Mamoru set about to sitting Kagami back down in her desk and gathering his own things.

"Now, let's try this again," he remarked cheekily. "Are you all right?"

Kagami looked as if she was once again about to say that she was perfectly fine, but she relented at the last minute. She put her elbows on her desk and cradled her head in her hands. "I don't know what happened... I wasn't up late, I swear! It was actually one of the best night's sleeps I've had in months... I fell asleep at six-thirty for heaven's sake! My roommate woke me up ten minutes before this class!"

Mamoru raised an eyebrow, switching off his tape recorder. "That isn't healthy."

"I know," Kagami groaned miserably. "But I shouldn't feel this... rotten, should I?"

Mamoru shook his head, frowning. This was quite strange. This wasn't like Kagami to be sure. And there were several other students in the class he knew fairly well who should not have been absent. None of them were quite as anal as Kagami, but she had a fair number of rivals. It just didn't make any sense.

"Have you been to a doctor?"

Kagami eyed him incredulously.

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "Right. You prefer to diagnose yourself. I forgot."

"I think maybe I have mono."

Mamoru flinched and repressed an exasperated sigh, reminding himself that he had just helped her up, he hadn't shared food with her... She was germaphobic. It would not have happened.

"Look, why don't I walk you back to your dorm?" Mamoru offered, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'd say that trying to go to your classes today is pretty pointless if you're just going to fall over or sleep the entire time."

Kagami began to protest, but soon realized that he was probably right. She slowly put her things back in her bag and forced herself to her feet. Mamoru knew better than to expect her to walk on her own. He quite literally offered her his arm as they walked. They had to pause a few times when Kagami grew woozy, but thankfully her dorm wasn't too far away, and she lived on the first floor.

"Thanks," Kagami muttered as she struggled to unlock her door. "I really appreciate it."

Mamoru shrugged modestly. "It was no trouble. I had to waste time before my Biology anyway."

Kagami snorted. "Glad to know I mean that much to you." She finally managed to get her door open and stumbled into her room. She promptly fell on the unmade bed, rubbing her right eye vigorously. "Just shut the door, would you?"

Mamoru waved and nearly shut the door when he paused. He didn't know exactly why, but when he saw what was sitting on Kagami's desk, he felt odd. So much so that he stood there for another seven minutes until Kagami realized he was there and ordered him away. For the rest of the day, he was unable to shake that strange sensation... And while he couldn't put his finger on what the exact feeling was, he was more than positive that it wasn't good.

Perched over Kagami's ancient laptop and holding up a row of books ranging from The Feminine Mystique to Knitting for Dummies, was that mysterious turquoise flower.

-----

Later that day, Mamoru pushed open the door to the Arcade, flinching at the cheerful sound of the tinkling bells. His head felt like the seven dwarves were in there mining for silver (as Disney had screwed yet another perfectly good fairy tale up by making it diamonds just because American children liked shiny things. He rubbed his temple and waved half-heartedly at Motoki, who was once again wiping down the perfectly clean counter.

"I hate school," Mamoru groaned as he laid down his load. "I know I don't normally say that, but I do. At least for today. Did you hear that Akigawa actually walked out on the lecture this morning? And he's giving us a test on Monday. I mean, I know I've defended him to you before, but I've decided you're right. He really is a complete son of a--"

"Unazaki's sick," Motoki interrupted, his voice soundly like the emotional equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a heart wrenching movie role.

Mamoru realized that Motoki had not been listening to a word he said. Not that he could blame him given the current circumstances. "Your sister?" Mamoru questioned needlessly. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know," Motoki proclaimed angrily, throwing the grey rag on the floor in frustration. "She was helping me bus tables earlier, and then she just collapsed! I mean, she was looking pretty haggard, but--"

Mamoru narrowed his eyes and cut him off. "That's really funny," he said in a tone that clearly demonstrated the lack of humor in their situation. "Because Kagami practically passed out during Akigawa's lecture today. That's why he stormed out of class actually. She was so exhausted I had to walk her back to her dorm room."

Motoki raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's odd... Do you think there's a flu bug going around?"

"In July?"

Motoki shrugged and slumped over on the gleaming counter, looking completely miserable. "I don't know... All I know is, something is wrong with my sister. I know you don't have any siblings, but she's my responsibility most of the time. I feel obligated to do something to help her. I'm the older brother. I'm supposed to protect her."

Mamoru looked at him strangely. His best friend had always been a touch sensitive when it came to his family. It always seemed rather odd to Mamoru, but then it would, wouldn't it? "Motoki, she's ill. She wasn't mugged or anything."

"I know," Motoki murmured, running a hand through his sandy mop. "But... It just doesn't make any sense. You don't know Unazaki like I do. She doesn't get sick. Ever. Heck, my parents forced her to spend time with a friend of hers when she had the chicken pox four years ago just so Unazaki wouldn't get it when she was older. She's never missed a day of school in her life. She's always had a perfect bill of health.

"And now, for some inexplicable reason, she just collapses? She isn't working herself too hard. She eats right. She gets enough sleep."

"She has an older brother watching her every move to the point where he would know all of that," Mamoru supplied.

Motoki didn't deny it. "I just don't understand it. I mean, she was fine this morning! She was practically skipping to school! And then she came home, checked the inventory in the store room, and when she came out, she looked terrible. I asked her about it, but she said she was okay... And I believed her until she passed out in table twelve's _soup du jour!"_

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "You have a soup of the day?"

Motoki glared at him. Clearly, this was not the subject to bring up at this point in time. "Not. Funny."

"I realize," Mamoru relented, holding up his hands. "I apologize. That was uncalled for."

Motoki sighed, suddenly looking a few years older and quite tired himself. For the first time, Mamoru realized that Motoki didn't look all that well. Though no one in Tokyo had a remarkably tan pallor, he was looking quite pale. As a matter of fact, his posture and overall appearance rather reminded him of Kagami's. "I just wish I could do something for her."

Mamoru reached over and clapped the man on the shoulder. "She'll be fine. In the meantime, you had better take care of yourself. You don't look all that great yourself."

Motoki laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah, and you're a regular runway model."

"I've had offers," Mamoru intoned casually. He frowned then and added, "But I really mean it. You look like Kagami did this morning... Maybe you have whatever Unazaki has."

Motoki put a hand up to his forehead even though he was well aware that wouldn't do him any good in assessing his temperature. He shrugged a few moments later. "I don't feel sick. A little tired, but otherwise okay."

Mamoru was about to order him to bed before he had to carry him up the stairs, when he held off. Motoki had been known to work until he fell over before, and no amount of nagging had stopped him before. Besides, maybe he was reading too much into this.

"You're really worried about her, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Motoki nearly whispered. "Yeah, I am. But I guess... you wouldn't understand would you?"

Mamoru didn't miss the note of empathy and compassion in his friend's voice, but he couldn't help but be stung. As if he needed more reminders.

Still, when Motoki said that, Mamoru couldn't help but think to two nights before. In spite of his name, Mamoru had never felt enough attachment to any one human being to state that he would lay down his life for them or even skin his knee for them. And yet when a girl he didn't even know or care for had been in danger, he had fought tooth and nail to protect her. And he somehow realized that he would have done the same if it had been Motoki, Akigawa, or somebody he had never laid eyes on before. And so in a way, he did know what Motoki was talking about. Maybe he understood it more.

"You never know."

Motoki grinned weakly. "Well, I'd better get your drink order. Whenever you show your sentimentality, it's a sure sign that you're deprived of caffeine. Hang on a second, I need to get some sugar from the store room. I have ten packets here, but I realize that just won't do it for you."

Mamoru opened his mouth to snipe at his friend when he was cut off yet again. He couldn't believe his eyes as Motoki opened the door. It wasn't possible. It had to be some kind of coincidence... And yet given the fact that he was now a super hero and perhaps possessed "Spidey Senses" of some kind, he wondered if there was such a thing anymore.

Mamoru found that his normally analytical mind was finding it impossible to believe that the fact that Unazaki had spent the same quality time with the flower Kagami had recently purchased had nothing to do with one another.

"Motoki!" Mamoru shouted, startling his friend so much he nearly dropped the box of sugar packets he was carrying. "Where did you get that flower?"

The blond gave Mamoru a rather odd look and then turned to see what he was talking about. He seemed as though he had forgotten about its existence until Mamoru had called it to his attention. "That? Unazaki brought it with her after school today. She said that the store room looked too dreary and if she was going to spend an hour locked in there, she wanted to have something pretty to look at."

Mamoru looked from his best friend to the mysterious bloom sitting in the middle of the room. He was crazy. He was mad. He had to be. There was absolutely no basis for his hypothesis other than the fact that two people suffering from exhaustion had the same flower. This kind of thing couldn't be based solely on a sort of nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had to find more evidence. It wasn't like him to jump to these wild conclusions.

Motoki suddenly dropped the box of sugar, grasping the doorknob to the storeroom. He looked even paler than he had a minute before.

But then Mamoru wasn't really himself anymore, was he?

Mamoru snatched his things from the counter and was on his feet in a second, fatigue and headache long forgotten. "Motoki, I suggest that you go lie down before you find yourself in the _soup du jour_ as well. And I have to take a rain check on that coffee."

Motoki stared at him in shock again. "Mamoru, what--"

"No time to explain," Mamoru called on his way out the door. "I'll see you later. Give my regards to Unazaki."

And with that Mamoru exited the Arcade, leaving Motoki behind. His fair haired friend stared as he stormed outside, turned a sharp corner, and walked in the opposite direction of his apartment or where he may have parked his car considering he had come straight from school. Motoki couldn't remember ever seeing Mamoru looking so... determined? Angry? Filled with righteous indignation? Avenging?

Motoki shook his head. Where was he coming up with these odd descriptions? Chiba Mamoru was simply not a passionate man. He was so laid back and composed it drove his friend crazy. He didn't get up in arms about anything. He had never stepped on to a soapbox in his entire life.

Yet, Motoki had been wondering about his friend for two days know. He wasn't concerned... Just wondering. There had been a change in him. It was nothing that Motoki could put his finger on, but... Something was drastically, incredibly different. Only time would tell if he liked it or not.

"Whenever you're ready, Mamoru," Motoki murmured softly to himself. "Whenever you're ready."

-----

"Hello?" Usagi sang out brightly, pushing open the door of the new flower shop with enthusiasm. She was slightly put off at the lack of bells to announce her arrival. She had always liked the bells... And it seemed that this store needed them more than others. The front was deserted. She looked around, shutting the door behind her. "Is anyone here?"

No one answered.

Usagi sighed, putting her hands on her hips. She had half a mind to walk out of the store.

Her mission outweighed her annoyance in terms of important however. She walked forward, sniffing at the weird blue-green flowers. They weren't her cup of tea, but they seemed just the sort of thing her mother would like. She had a passing interest in gardening, and her birthday was coming up. Usagi figured she would extend a gesture to the woman who had been so kind to her for the past decade and a half.

Besides, if Usagi gave her a present, maybe she wouldn't be so upset about the English exam she'd gotten back today.

Usagi looked around, amazed that the store carried the mysterious bloom almost exclusively. There were a few mundane, rather common flowers placed in the corners where most shoppers would not venture when faced with the other, more exotic flora. As a matter of fact, a few of them looked like they were dying from neglect. The blonde frowned and walked forward, grabbing a nearby watering can.

"No sense in letting perfectly nice flowers die," Usagi murmured, sprinkling water onto the withering blooms. She realized that if the owner came back out to the front, they would have thought she was rather ridiculous if not presumptuous. Usagi didn't care all that much. Life was precious.

Usagi's grip tightened on the watering can. Yes, life indeed was precious. That thought had been hounding her footsteps like a murderer in the night for two days now. She hadn't been able to shake it. Life was precious. Her life was precious. Her life had almost been stolen because it was so precious.

She shivered and set the can down. She couldn't think about that. The thought was always there, but she didn't have to focus on it. She didn't have time to think about it. Life was too short to be afraid. She had to keep smiling and acting as if nothing had ever happened until she forgot about it. And then things really would be normal and she could laugh and have a boyfriend and get married and live in a house with a white picket fence with 2.5 kids and a black cat with a bald spot and all would be right with the world.

Of course, she realized that she was being silly. She had nothing to worry about. Naru and her mother had said so.

Usagi had told them what happened and neither one of them had been at all surprised. That was good because Usagi had been worried that she had lost her mind at some point during the past hour. Then they had calmed any remaining fears she had by saying that surely this was a one time thing. It wouldn't happen again. Even if it did, what were the chances that she would be involved again in a city so large?

In retrospect, the reaction had seemed odd. Naru had later told Usagi that she had behaved so rationally to keep from screaming. Usagi didn't tell Naru that this was why she couldn't stop smiling.

As a matter of fact, Usagi's grin had remained painted on her face until she saw that stupid guy at the arcade again. What was his name? Mamoru?

She clenched her fists just thinking about him. The mere thought of him was enough to send her reeling again. Just who did he think he was trying to speak to her after what he had done? And how dare he show up at her hang out? That was where she went to get away from jerks like him for a few hours not spend time with them! It was horribly inconsiderate of him to keep popping up in her life like that.

But oddly enough, even though she stopped smiling, his presence reassured her. That was why she had followed him out after all. Maybe it had been because no monster's disposition could be worse than his.

Usagi sighed. Nothing she did made any sense any more. She didn't want to be dwelling on this. She just wanted to buy her mother the stupid flower and go home. There were television shows to watch and homework to avoid.

"Excuse me?" Usagi called, her impatience growing. This place was entirely too dark for a flower shop. It made her uneasy. "Is there anyone here?"

There was still no answer.

"Answer me!" Usagi insisted, quickly realizing what she had said after she said it.

"Stupid Usagi..." she muttered, walking forward and looking around. "They can't talk to you if they aren't here." She kept moving however, checking every nook and cranny for a salesperson. She really did want to get that flower for her mother. She didn't have any better ideas for a birthday present and time was running out. It was also the only feasible way Usagi could think of to save her life once her mother saw her grades.

Usagi then noticed that there was a door slightly propped open behind the counter. She saw light filtering through it and thought she heard something from within. She frowned. There was absolutely no reason why no one could hear her from that distance with the door open no less. Someone was ignoring her! A potential customer!

She huffed and started to turn and walk out of the store... When she thought better of it. Usagi was going to tell that salesperson exactly what their rude negligence had done. And then she was going to say that she would tell everyone she knew to avoid coming into this store because of the way they treated their customers. Yes, that was what she would do.

Usagi nodded and stalked forward. She was going to give this person a piece of her mind. She walked behind the counter and pushed open the door, a scowl on her lips and a rant forming in her mind. She held up a hand and said, "Now listen up, Miss. I just wanted to tell you that..."

Usagi trailed off. Her eyes went wide at what she saw.

There was a woman standing with her back to her. She was a bit on the large side and quite muscular. She had nearly jet black, curly hair. She was wearing a rather tacky looking orange and yellow ensemble that didn't compliment her skin tone. However, this was all trivial information that Usagi was taking extreme care to notice for reasons she could not explain.

What she should really have been paying attention to was the fact that the woman was holding her hand out to the side. There was a ball of hovering blue and white light floating above her splayed fingers. It was moving as if it was alive, but something told Usagi that she wasn't quite right. Of course, the real source of panic was that the woman's skin tone was robin's egg blue.

Usagi's stomach hit the floor. It couldn't be. This was a nightmare. She was sleeping through one of Haruna's lectures or detention or a bad movie. This couldn't actually be real. Not again.

The woman's head literally spun around so that her head was actually one backwards. Usagi nearly shrieked at the cracking of her neck, but the cry was stopped in her throat when she got a look at her face. It was horribly misshapen and lacking in any symmetry whatsoever. It was covered in craters and warts and wrinkles. Her skin sagged down to the base of her neck. Her chin was so pointy, it looked as if it would impale her. Her eyes were bright purple with orange irises. It didn't look as if she had any pupils to speak of. Her ears resembled those of bats. She was covered in nasty looking scars as if her face had been cut and stretched and beaten into the position it was in now. As if some mad scientist had attempted to improve the human form and come up with this. Perhaps he had tried to erase the horror he had created.

The woman... or whatever it was let its long, acid green tongue hang out of its mouth. She snarled like a hungry lion lusting after a wounded gazelle.

Usagi backed up as fast as she could. Dream or not, she did not want to stick around. She kept peddling backward and naturally wound up tripping over her own feet in her haste. She went crashing to the ground, crying out in pain.

Usagi froze for half a moment. It hurt. Her wrists throbbed from the force of impact and it felt like she bruised her tailbone. It hurt. It wasn't meant to hurt. Not here. Not in her mind. Illusions couldn't hurt her. Nightmares could only terrify her. They couldn't make her bleed.

But it hurt.

She screamed in horrible realization long before the monster towered over her. This was real. It was happening all over again. And just like before she was all alone. There was no one around to help her. And she couldn't help herself because she was petrified. All she could do as the demon hovered over her and reached out for Usagi's milky throat with mangled, twisted hands was scream.

"HELP!"

-----

As Mamoru fled from the Crown Arcade, a million thought were swimming through his mind. The first and foremost being that he had to be crazy. Or perhaps he had become stupid as a result of all of this. So what if Unazaki and Motoki were tired? They ad always been stretched pretty thin. Kagami more so. It was only natural that all of their hard word would eventually catch up to them. The fact that it had happened at the same time and that they both happened to have purchased the same flower had to be a coincidence.

But then what was this feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Mamoru almost cursed, but it would have looked quite strange as he attempted to weave through the crowd of salary men and schoolgirls on their way home or to the mall or somewhere else entirely. He was trying to run against the grain in Japan. That didn't come easily. Still, it gave him time to think.

Maybe this superhero business (God that sounded so weird) really was making him paranoid. He had to be reading too much into this. It couldn't be happening again so quickly. The enemy needed time to regroup. They had to rework their strategy. They had to assess how much of a threat he was. They had to do something aside from attack immediately and give him time to breathe!

Or did they know so much about him? Did they know he was a rookie? Did they know that he was overwhelmed? Did they know he was alone? Did they know that he would be unprepared for another attack so soon after the last one, and therefore, they had redoubled their efforts to launch another one soon after the first?

He walked faster, pushing through the crowd without apologizing...

And nearly kicked someone because it was just a stupid flower!

He should contact Luna somehow. She was still at the apartment. He had to find a payphone. He had to call her. He had to ask her what was going on. He had to get her down there and...

And have her tell him he was mad! Loony! Idiotic! She was a cat for God's sake! She couldn't answer the phone!

Then again she wasn't supposed to talk was she?

His head was beginning to hurt from all of the back and forth arguments in his brain. He wasn't used to be being unable to make a decision. Then again, it was not as if he had been forced to deal with issues quite this pressing before. Usually, all he had to decide during the day was between A and C or which pair of boxers he would wear that day.

Finally, he concluded that even if he was being stupid, he had to check it out. And he would not call Luna. She was incredibly annoying and overbearing on a good day.

Mamoru strode forward confidently, moving with purposeful haste. Yes. That was what he would do. He would march right into that flower shop and figure out what the heck was going on, perhaps even purchase the blossom and investigate. If he passed out, it was evil. If not, it was a coincidence. Of course, the plan had its flaws, but he didn't have time to come up with a better plan. Besides, his head was killing him.

Mamoru choked on his own saliva when something exploded behind his right eye. He nearly doubled over in pain, almost dropping his book bag. He held his head with his free hand, squeezing his eyes shut. He had never experienced pain like this before in his life. It wasn't like someone was pounding at his brain... It was like someone was setting off a continuous string of high explosives while trying to rip out his eyeballs.

He groaned quietly and moved to his left where he had seen an alley. People let him pass as he looked quite insane. He stumbled into the alley, collapsing against the dirty brick. He nearly asked himself what was going on when he saw it...

Well, he didn't actually see anything. He sort of got the sense that something horrible was happening. He really would have liked to have been more specific than that, but he would have to make do. And somehow, he felt this confirmed his suspicions as he found that he could think of nothing but that exotic flower, the mysterious shopkeeper...

And Usagi.

Mamoru didn't know why, but all doubts that he was being paranoid flew from his mind. He reached into his pocket without consciously ordering his arm to move. His hand closed around something thin and crisp. He flinched as his thumb grazed against something sharp.

The pain in his head cleared away as he pulled out a single, perfect rose.

-----

Yumeko and Suzume walked out of the public bathroom, holding their shopping bags and laughing so loudly that they were beginning to attract attention. Their bags did not hold any recent purchases, but rather their school uniforms from earlier that day. It had become a custom that they would shed the dreadful looking pieces of cloth after school every Friday and go spend their parents' hard earned money. It wasn't as if they got yelled at for it. There was plenty to go around.

"So, where do you want to go today, Yumeko?" Suzume asked quietly. She was a bit embarrassed from all the attention their antics had warranted. "Have any new boutiques opened up?"

Yumeko shook her head vigorously and responded, her voice much too loud. Suzume sometimes wondered if the girl was hard of hearing and didn't realize that her volume was inappropriate given the fact that they were not at a football game. "Sadly, no. Daddy would have told me if he had heard anything. But did you hear about the jewelry shop a couple of days ago?"

Suzume's eyes sparkled. She did love a good pair of earrings. "No, what?"

"Well," Yumeko began, feeling very impressed that she had come up with this knowledge. "I heard that the Osa-P Jewelry Shop had a huge sale the other day. It seems Osaka was practically giving the stuff away. Daddy thinks she's going out of business or something."

"No!" Suzume whispered, awed.

"Yes!" Yumeko insisted. Then she pouted and added, "But it was only a one time thing. It's too bad. I could have used some more pearls."

"No kidding," Suzume said, not really sharing the sentiment. She had always preferred sapphires. "But really, what do you want to--"

She was cut out when a figure in black suddenly darted out of the alleyway to her left. He cut her off, making her drop her things. She screamed, almost worried that she was being attacked. It quickly trailed off though as the mysterious figure actually stopped and tipped his hat.

"Sorry about that," he said cordially. And with that he leapt over her head and was out of sight. She turned, but she didn't seem him land again.

Yumeko just stared, her mouth hanging open. The people around them had a similar reaction. In fact, only one person seemed to be blissfully unaware of the events that had transpired and kept walking. She was apparently too engrossed in book to notice anything out of the ordinary.

-----

"Somebody help me!" Usagi shrieked again as she wriggled away from the monster's grasp. She couldn't believe this was happening to her again. She also couldn't believe that no one could hear her cries from outside. Was everyone in Japan that self absorbed?

Usagi screamed and rolled under the table, putting something between her and this demon. Her tongue was still lolling out of her mouth, and Usagi swore she saw the thing lick its lips in sick anticipation more than once. It was disturbing. It was disgusting. It was terrifying.

Seeing no other option, Usagi kept narrowly escaping the monster's hands. It was almost a replay of Wednesday's events. Usagi kept rolling, running, and throwing herself out of the way. It was exhausting. Every time she neared the exit, the thing would leap over her head and block it. The blonde was beginning to get the feeling that the thing was taunting her or found some amusement in this.

This running all over the place wasn't getting her anywhere. She began running backwards again, realizing all the while that this was a bad idea, but too fearful to turn and show unprotected back to the youma.

Usagi actually avoided the only obstacle that would have caused her to fall over. She stopped. She looked it at. She looked back at the demon.

Well, it certainly couldn't hurt anything.

Usagi reached down and picked up the watering can as the monster hopped over the table. She could have done this at any time, but perhaps she was growing tired of the thrill of the chase. Her tongue was quite literally wagging now. And she did not attempted to make conversation... Maybe this one was dumber?

At least she had intelligence on her side. That wasn't something she could say very often.

The monster advanced, and Usagi somehow managed to remain rooted to her spot. She was whimpering quietly under her breath. She was trembling so hard that she nearly dropped the can on several occasions. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over if she blinked too much. But in spite of everything in her being telling her to run away as fast as she possibly could, she stood her ground.

The monster gurgled like it was coming up from the black lagoon or something. It came forward, its immense arms swinging back forth at its side before the thing brought them up. She sprang forward, reaching for Usagi's neck.

Unsure of what would happen as a result of this action, Usagi leapt backwards with great effort and flung the water in the monster's face. She kept moving away from the monster, dropping the empty can at her feet. However, she didn't immediately flee the scene of the crime. If that thing was going to melt, she wanted to see it happen. At least then she could get some sleep at night. She backed away slowly, eyeing the monster to see what would happen.

The youma simply stared at her for a moment, water dripping off its face. It did not appear to be in any pain. It wasn't shrinking. Layers of skin weren't falling off its face. In fact, it just stood there staring at Usagi for a moment before spitting out a mouthful of water.

Okay, maybe Usagi didn't have an intellectual advantage.

Usagi started running again, turning around as fast as she could. She lifted her legs off of the cement, fighting gravity, and then slamming her feet down on the pavement again. She tried to gain speed, but it was if she was trapped in that dream where she was trying to run but couldn't get anywhere fast enough. It was like she was dragging the weight of a few elephants behind her in her escape. The demon was hot on her heels the entire time, never really moving as fast as it could. The cat and mouse game was maddening, but Usagi didn't know how to put an end to it.

She began to notice that it seemed as if she wasn't moving nearly as fast as she had been before. Usagi wasn't exactly physically gifted as it was, but she would have thought that adrenaline would have kept her going. As time when on, she started to feel really tired... Like she wanted to go to sleep. She felt drained,  
and she didn't know why.

Usagi heard that strange gurgling noise coming up behind her. She had to run. She had to get away. God only knew what would happen if she didn't.

She pitched forward, unable to run anymore.

-----

Tuxedo Kamen entered the Flower Shop not really expecting to find it in the circumstances he had seen it in the past few times he had passed by. However, he did not expect to see none other than Tsukino Usagi attempting to flee from yet another monster. He nearly called her by name, but stopped just in time.

He decided that talking wasn't really the best course of action as Usagi fell forward. Predictably, she couldn't stand without his help. Any thoughts of those flowers just being a coincidence fled his thoughts in that moment.

Of course, the big scary monster had pretty much proved that point, but Tuxedo Kamen could only process so much at once.

"Motoki..." Usagi murmured softly, clinging to Tuxedo Kamen's shirt.

Tuxedo Kamen would have slapped himself if he hadn't been too busy holding her up. He needed to get her out of there and fast. Unfortunately, the youma did not seem to be too keen on that idea as it rushed towards them.

He only had a few seconds to act. He managed to hold on to the woozy teenager with one arm and pull yet another rose out of thin air. The blue demon garbled and grated out something intelligible, perhaps her name. Tuxedo Kamen paid it no attention and let the rose fly, streaking through the air towards its exposed face. It hit right on target, opening up a relatively large wound on the side of the youma's face. She screeched as if burned and clutched at it, backing away.

Tuxedo Kamen hoisted the limp girl into his arms. She was surprisingly heavy for someone so short and thin. He quickly began to run from the flower shop, hoping to get Usagi outside and away from these flowers. Not to mention, he wasn't sure how long he would last within.

Unfortunately, his rose had not proved to be an ample distraction. Just before he reached the door, the youma leapt in front of him. Her eyes were glowing with rage and malice. She let out a cry that chilled his bones, but he didn't pay his fear much mind. His main priority was keeping the girl safe from harm and killing this thing before it did any more damage.

Tuxedo Kamen leapt backwards, just missing her fist that could probably have done a lot of damage. He quickly placed Usagi's limp form under the display table. She would be safe for now, assuming being locked up in here too long didn't kill her.

He swallowed. He decided not to think about that again.

It gargled at him again, its right ear twitching in a manner that made him cringe. Then the demon raised its hand above its head. The thing surged forward again, but Tuxedo Kamen decided that he wasn't about to let this monster lay one hand on him. It had done enough damage for one lifetime.

He grabbed one of the offending blossoms and hurled it at the youma's head. The potted plant hit dead on. Thanks to relative velocity, the force of impact was much greater because she'd been coming at him. It staggered, disoriented and hurt. Tuxedo Kamen knew that these demons couldn't bleed, but he thought he saw a trail of sand raining down from her temple.

Tuxedo Kamen took that opportunity to run towards the back. He knew that there would not be a back exit to the shop as it faced buildings on all sides. But perhaps he could find a weapon of some sort. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. A gun? A machete? A really big gun?

Tuxedo Kamen burst through the partially open door at the back, sparing the youma one last glance. It was beginning to regain its bearings once more. It was coming for him slowly. It did not look down at the golden pigtail trailing out from underneath the table.

He breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door, latching it. It wouldn't keep the demon out for long, but perhaps it would give him enough time to find something useful.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the gods would not be as kind as they had been to the bumbling super hero before. He was faced with a room full of gardening tools. While some of them could have been used to bludgeon the thing to death, the youma or someone working with it had possessed the foresight to place anything sharp and heavy under lock and key.

There had to be something useful. There had to be!

Tuxedo Kamen heard the strangled scream from outside the door. Then there was a large thunk against it. Another and the door began to crack.

He spun around, his eyes flying over everything on the table. Watering cans... Seeds... Wooden stakes which would have been useful if the thing outside was a vampire... A garden hose...

Tuxedo Kamen furrowed his brows. It was insanity. It was suicide. It was stupid.

The door nearly gave way under the third thunk.

It was his only option.

Tuxedo Kamen reached for the garden hose, praying to heaven above that this would work. Or that one of those fabled Sailor Senshi he was supposed to be looking for would just miraculously drop down through the ceiling and take care of it. They were supposed to be more powerful anyway. They could probably toast this thing with a flick of their wrist.

But that probably wasn't going to happen. He was on his own. He didn't even have Luna around to nag him! He had really thrown himself to the wolves this time.

And as the door gave way with the fourth and final blow, he hoped they didn't tear him to shreds.

The youma burst in, letting out that same garbled screech. Tuxedo Kamen snatched the nearest heavy object, another flower pot although this one was empty, and hurled it at the demon. It was prepared for the assault and brought up its hand to block it. With one deadly movement, the youma had knocked it back to the ground. It shattered on impact.

It leapt forward, drawing its fist back in a surprisingly arcane manner. He was still surprised that these monsters were so hands on. Tuxedo Kamen didn't marvel for long as the hand made contact with his jaw. He staggered back out into the store front. His back went crashing into the service counter. He did not let go of the garden hose.

The monster came barreling out, her eyes spinning around wildly in her head. It did not give Tuxedo Kamen a chance to recover from her previous assault. She leapt on him, lifting him up and slamming him down on the counter. He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, but he didn't have much longer to breathe. The youma's gnarled hands closed around his throat, blocking off his airway. He of course saw the bitter irony in all of this, but naturally, he couldn't comment. Tuxedo Kamen just attempted to pry her hands off his throat, desperately gasping for air and receiving nothing in return. He still did not let go of the hose.

He struggled and pushed at the monster, fighting with all of his might. He was overtaken not only by some deep sense of duty he did not hope to understand but pure survival instinct. He pushed and punched and grappled, but adrenaline was not enough. The monster could easily crush him as if he were nothing more than an empty soda can. And as time passed, he got weaker.

He knew exactly how long he had until he died. He also knew that his struggling was expending more and more energy and was thereby only hastening his trip towards death. However, it his hands struggling against the youma's that was saving his trachea and a few other things from being crushed. He knew all of that, but he did not know the one thing that would actually be useful in this situation: How he was going to get out of this alive.

The youma was leaning into him, putting all of its weight into strangling him. Consequently, Tuxedo Kamen's body slid against the smooth counter until his head was hanging over the edge. This made the struggle decidedly more difficult as he was now dealing with blood rushing to his head and no oxygen. It was becoming harder and harder to struggle or think straight.

But he could still see. And all he saw when he gazed out at the storefront was that one sunny gold tendril sticking out from underneath the display table. That and a patent leather shoe.

It was then that it occurred to him that his legs were fully functional.

Tuxedo Kamen curled up his legs underneath the demon and pushed out as hard as he possibly could. He managed to get enough leverage to knock it off the table, sending it sprawling to the floor.

He would have liked to take a few moments to reacquaint himself with the air, but he did not have the time to spare. Taking a large gulp of oxygen, he flung himself off the counter and to where the monster had fallen. He landed directly on top of it. It nearly threw him off, but Tuxedo Kamen wouldn't let that happen.

He wrapped his legs around the monster's waist, looping the hose around its neck. He pulled it taught until the demon's gurgled scream became nothing but a nearly silent wheeze. It thrashed beneath him. Its wrinkled, scarred hands clawed at his back, drawing blood. The youma tried to throw him off, but his legs held on fast. He knew in his heart that it probably could have ripped the hose off without much effort, but this didn't appear to occur to it. This one, by some miracle, was stupid.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he felt the garden hose pass through the youma's neck and his legs didn't have anything to hold on to. The youma turned to sand beneath him. He got up before too much of it got on him.

As Tuxedo Kamen rose to his feet, he saw the potted plants wither and die all at once. Then, once they were nothing but black, lifeless shells of what they had been, they too turned to dust. Within seconds, all that was left inside the store was a number of empty pots, piles of dust, and an unconscious school girl.

He snorted, finding levity in spite of that fact that he wanted to retch. "Some people really can sleep through everything."

-----

Mamoru sighed as the doors of the elevator finally opened, dropping him off on the twenty-second floor of his apartment complex. His back was killing him yet again thanks to that thing digging into his back. His arms even hurt a little after carrying Usagi all the way back to the Arcade and leaving her inside the door. He had gotten a number of weird looks, but he had dropped his guise as the masked hero at the time. Still, it must have looked odd.

Mamoru touched his neck slightly, standing just outside the elevator doors. He was afraid to get a good look at his throat, suspecting that his pale pallor had been rendered black and blue. He didn't want to see it. He didn't to think about it again until he woke up in the morning and saw that it had healed.

He shook his head slightly, forcing himself to walk forward and not think about the fact that he had narrowly escaped death. Again.

He was really bad at this saving the world stuff.

Mamoru dragged himself over to his apartment, fumbling with his keys to try and get them into the look. When he finally managed to get the door open, he was greeted with a rather unwelcome sight. There was Luna, his adorable little cat with one very large axe to grind, sound asleep on his couch.

He glared at her peaceful, sleeping body. There was clearly no justice in the world. None whatsoever.

Mamoru walked forward, leaving the door to his apartment open. A few moments later, he stuck his arm outside the door, holding on to a rather groggy feline by her scruff. He then released her with no regards for her personal safety whatsoever. Then he shut the door and locked it behind him, just in case.

And Luna just sat there, wondering what he was so testy about.

-----

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

1) Everything in this chapter about the Endocrine system was taken from Human Anatomy Online ). Hopefully this will be the first and only time that I write something where Mamoru's in a lecture hall. :P Unless of course it's British Literature, in which case I'll do a tap dance.

2) "Gravity is a cruel mistress" is from either Red Dwarf or Blackadder, I can't remember which...

Sailor Moon and various and sundry other products, TV shows, movies, songs, and a bunch of other stuff are not mine.

I do apologize for the vast amounts of exposition that every other Sailor Moon fan is well aware of, but it has to be said in order for everything to make sense.  
After all, somebody has to tell Mamoru what's going on for him to know, right? I will try and keep this to a minimum from here on in, but you know there's going to be more. Hopefully, you'll be able to spot it and skip what you can.

Thanks to Yumeko at ASMR for providing a list of Japanese names for authors to use.  
I threw in her name as an extra thank you, but she also supplied the names Mareo, Kagami, and Suzume. And be sure to go read her stuff at ASMR under the name Heavenly Pearl. "Spirit of Fire" is amazing, particularly if you are a Rei fan.

If you want to keep tabs on when this and other stories are being updated, swing by my Live Journal! The web address is at the top. If you stop in about once a week, you should find at least one new post about it... And you never know, I might leave a tantalizing teaser! .

Coming Soon - Part Three: Caffeine Dream


	3. Caffeine Dream

Hands Fall Together  
Part Three: Caffeine Dream  
3/27  
by Kihin Ranno  
PG-13

Usagi was awake early that morning, staring out the front window of her home. She looked out at her neighborhood before her, gazing at the impeccable homes that were the envy of most of Japan. Most of the families in their neighborhood had many small children to their credit. She was one of the older ones on the block. Still, many of her neighbors had often remarked that she looked and acted very much like the youths she was not yet allowed to long after by herself.

"I've never seen her without a smile on her face."

"She's so carefree."

"You're always happy, aren't you, Usagi?"

"She cries like my nine month old…"

"But they're always crocodile tears."

"Can anything get you down?"

"It's like nothing's ever touched her."

"She's still so innocent."

Usagi winced at the last memory, but did not turn away from the window. No, she could not yet bring herself to look away from the families in her neighborhood with their pure, unsullied children. Usagi had never noticed the resemblance between her gaze and that of a five year old, but she had always taken their word for it.

She shifted her focus so that she could clearly see her reflection in the glass. She studied her eyes as never before, suddenly conscious of the words of her neighbors. Her eyes were indeed wide and bright... but even she could sense there was something different about them now. And since it was said that eyes were the window to one's soul, that must have meant something was different about her.

She wondered if the neighbors would still think she was innocent now.

"Usagi?"

She turned around, a little startled but not surprised to hear her brother's voice call from the top of the stairs. He scratched his head, mussing up his hair even more. Shingo cocked his head to the side and asked, "What are you doing up so early?"

Usagi smiled softly. No, she was no longer innocent.

"I just couldn't sleep," Usagi assured him with a shrug of her shoulders.

He looked momentarily concerned, though he would surely deny it if she pointed it out. "Did you have a nightmare or something?"

But strangely enough, she was not afraid.

"No. No nightmares," Usagi explained. Then her soft smile twisted into a mischievous grin. "But you're going to have one if you think you're getting in the shower before me!"

And with that, brother and sister both raced for the bath, shrieking and yelling at one another as siblings always did. When one of them pushed the other into the wall shared with their parents' master bedroom, Kenji sat bolt upright in bed. He glared at the wall with malevolence one could only muster after having just been roused from a deep sleep. He punched his pillow with some violence and muttered, "Some things never change."

* * *

At precisely six in the morning, just like hundreds of mornings before, an alarm clock buzzed, rousing the slumbering water nymph from her dreams. Her eyes opened without hesitation, her right hand reaching out and tapping the button on her alarm clock to end its noise permanently. She had never once even considered hitting the snooze button for just five more minutes. She simply sat up, threw the covers off her, stretched her arms to the sky, and prepared to greet a brand new day. 

Before doing anything else, the teen walked over to her cedar wood desk and gathered up the homework she hadn't placed into her briefcase the night before. She glanced at each one, just to make sure that she had remembered to sign her name to every slip of paper. She had, as always, not neglected to write Mizuno Ami in perfect kanji at the top of every sheet. Satisfied with her normal aptitude, she placed all of the papers in her briefcase and went about getting ready.

From there, things continued on in their normal routine. She took a quick shower to scrub away the grime that had accumulated over the previous day. The water was always so hot that it nearly scalded her. Ami's skin turned painful pink as the liquid pounded against her back and shoulders. The heat and pressure made her flesh sing with what some thought was discomfort, but she reveled in it. She was content, and that wasn't something that she often felt as of late.

When she emerged, steam rose from the droplets that clung to her as a child would to a parent. The translucent smoke escaped from her shower and clouded the mirror. It quickly got to the point where she could scarcely see her navy and ivory silhouette. She toweled off briskly, knowing that her hair would dry long before she left for school.

Ami dressed in her school uniform, stepped into her house slippers, and walked the length of the penthouse to the kitchen. There, she filled her obento box with two sandwiches and a bottle of water. All that was left to do was pour her mother's healthy cereal into a crystal bowl, add milk, and sit down at the empty kitchen table to eat in silence.

It was all routine. One day exactly like the next. The monotony was soothing, but it was a cold kind of solace.

Ami sighed and glanced over at the clock as she spooned the last bit of soggy cereal into her mouth. It was five minutes to seven and time to get to school. So, just like always, Ami gathered her things, put on her shoes, and headed out the door to the elevator.

She exited her building quickly and headed on to the crowded streets of Tokyo. As she walked, Ami glanced around and saw various groups of girls and boys on their way to school. They meandered along in groups as they always did. They laughed loudly in spite of the reproachful looks they received. They greeted each other with warm familiarity. They seemed as if they had known each other for years and would continue along that same track. They looked happy, glad that things had remained the same for as long as they had.

She looked away from them, choosing instead to stare at the pavement as she made her way to school. It seemed as though things had always been this way. And while her peers were content with the sameness, Ami longed for change.

Ami had always been one girl versus everything else. She had not been blessed with any siblings to help her through her parents' divorce. Her father had placed himself in artistic seclusion after years of working at a job he hated so that her mother could stay at home. She rarely saw him save through photographs he sent with painted postcards. Her mother was a workaholic in the worst sense, determined to make up for the time her marriage had cost her. And Ami had never seemed to manage to make any lasting friends. People were intimidated by her intelligence. Or they were convinced that she was stuck up because of the wealth her mother had accumulated. Or they saw her as distant and cold, preferring to eat lunch, walk to school, and exist all alone.

Ami stopped as the lights dictated her and watched the clouds move across the grey sky above her. She wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to have a friend. Someone that she could talk to unconditionally about anything. Someone who needed her advice or who could pass on their own knowledge about the many things in life that baffled Ami. Someone who could make her laugh or smile. Someone she could cry with. Someone who could just be there to make the days easier.

It wasn't as if Ami hadn't ever had friends. In the early days, when she was carefree and light-hearted like all children, she had companionship. But it wasn't the same as the friendships others developed in later years. She would play with them on the playground or in her home or in the water, but things could not go beyond that. They were too young to understand just how hard loyalty was.

But after the divorce, Ami had undergone a drastic change. She became more reserved. She threw herself into schoolwork as her mother told her, perhaps foolishly thinking that a perfect score on a math test would fix everything. Maybe if she became better at finding the solution to things, she could solve why Daddy had left Mommy and glue them back together. And as childish as those ideas were, Ami grew beyond her classmates. Teachers constantly complimented her on her intelligence. Gracious acceptance of their praise was seen as arrogance. One by one, the children turned their backs on her.

Her mother dried her tears and told her that it didn't matter. They were jealous and didn't deserve her company anyway.

To this day, Ami could not understand how ignorant adults were of the trauma caused during a child's formative years. Children are the cruelest of creatures because of their endearing innocence. They think a simple "I'm sorry" will heal all wounds and adults are infallible. But then, no one had ever apologized for her mistreatment. And Ami had known from the moment her mother's words failed to soothe her that adults did not know everything.

She had tried making friends in later years. At the start of every school year, she went in with the attitude that her time had finally arrived. She would meet someone and make them notice her. They would see her for what she was, not for what everyone assumed about her. She would enter the building with a smile on her face and determination in her heart.

But always, within a week, Ami found herself friendless and alone, equipped only with her books and a new, unforgiving rumor.

It wasn't as though she wanted to be stupendously and miraculously popular overnight. She wasn't so delusional. But she would have just liked one friend to stand beside her against the world. She needed a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, and arms to hold her. It wasn't a matter of wanting anymore. She was drowning in the sameness of it all. Had she been any other person, she would have crumbled long ago.

But she had persevered. In spite of all the taunting, teasing, and the even crueler apathy, she had made it through nearly half a decade on her own. Still, she was growing tired of it. She was lonelier than a ghost. A spirit could find comfort in the fact that people did not see him. Ami was out there for all the world to see. They simply chose not to look at her.

Ami exhaled quietly as it was the closest thing to a sigh she would allow herself to utter. After all, her life wasn't so bad. She had two parents who loved her, however distantly. She wanted for nothing, save attention. She wasn't sick. She wasn't dying. She was certainly a lot luckier than a lot of people her age, and sadly, even younger.

Still, Ami was unable to completely cheer herself up. It was hard to make herself be happy when there was that constant, nagging loneliness brooding in the lower extremities of her brain. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if at least one person at school noticed her for more than three seconds to remark on the fact that she had achieved the top score yet again.

Her thoughts were cut off as a wail came up behind her, pulling her out of her reverie. Ami spun around and nearly screamed as she saw a blonde blur streaking towards her. She leapt out of the way, watching it pass. She couldn't help but think that she had heard that cry somewhere before.

"Oh, God! I can't believe I'm late again! And I was up so early... Ugh! Ms. Haruna is going to give me detention until I advance for this!"

It was then that Ami placed it, remembering the sound as it rushed passed her classroom day in and day out. Sometimes, she looked up from whatever she was reading and saw the flurry of colored panic whiz by her classroom. Ami would cluck her tongue quietly, wondering how one could be so consistently late to school... or be late at all for that matter.

It was at this point in time that Ami's virtually infallible brain picked up on the fact that if Usagi was late, she was late also. She gasped and glanced down at her watch. Had she not been so reserved, she would have cursed at the revelation that she had been moping at the stop light for over fifteen minutes.

Ami quickly took off just at the end of a stop light. She heard a car's brakes screech behind her, but there was no time to think of that now. She couldn't be late to school! It went against everything she believed in! Her teachers would think she was like Tsukino, flighty and uncaring about academia. What would they do to her if they thought she was just another desensitized, disinterested student?

She shuddered at the thought and doubled her speed. It wasn't long before she caught up with Usagi.

The blonde with twin ponytails glanced over to see who her companion was and did at least a triple take when she saw who it was. "Hey, aren't you that girl who always gets the top score on the exams?"

Ami flushed and nodded as demurely as she could while racing for her life. She secretly wanted to stop and ask the girl if that was all she would ever be known for. But of course, she would never do it. She was neither so forward nor so melancholic.

Usagi's chest heaved with the effort to keep running. Apparently, she had been doing a mad dash since she left her home. Surely she couldn't keep it up much longer, especially since her face was beginning to resemble Dr. Mizuno's amethyst collection. She bowed her head by way of greeting and gasped, "I'm Tsukino Usagi. I'm the girl who always gets the lowest scores on the exams. It must be great to be so smart, right?"

Ami shrugged, unsure of how else to respond.

They rounded a corner and came upon the school in what must have been record time. The bells would ring to signify the start of the day in exactly 42 seconds. They had just enough time to make it to their respective classrooms and narrowly miss detention.

Usagi let out a jubilant cry, pumping her fist in the air. Ami guessed that had she been a more coordinated person, she would have clicked her heels. But alas, as the fist pumping very nearly threw her off balance, the scholarly girl decided that perhaps that would not have been the best course of action.

"We're really going to make it!" Usagi shouted with glee. "That will be the first time I've been on time this month!"

This information would have galled Ami, but it was only the sixth of July. So, considering who she was talking to, it wasn't quite that offensive.

They hurried through the open doors of the school and began sprinting down the slick hallway. They both rushed into the coat room to change their shoes. Ami slipped in and out of hers easily, but Usagi had a much harder time of it. She wound up forgoing trying to get them on in the room and attempted the hopping technique.

This decision had proved to be nearly fatal.

Usagi somehow managed to keep up with her while hopping. Unfortunately, seeing as her center of gravity was skewed far more than even the normal clumsy teenager, the results were inevitably disastrous. She wound up losing her balance entirely and toppling to the floor.

Normally, this would not have bothered Ami. But it became quite vexing when Usagi flapped her arms as if trying to take flight in order to save herself from falling. Her right arm slapped Ami across the back with incredibly force, and they both ended up tumbling to the ground at approximately 9.8 meters per second.

Naturally, just to make the event that much worse, Usagi landed on top of her and they became hopelessly entwined in flailing limbs and impossibly long hair.

In the midst of screaming, wriggling, and attempting to remain modest, they heard a horrible sound.

The bell was ringing.

Usagi moaned loudly, lamenting how she was hoping to start off this week without a detention, but Ami was not paying attention. She was lying on the ground, completely motionless, as her entire identity was shattered.

She was Mizuno Ami! She was not tardy. She was not reckless. She slept exactly eight hours and fifteen minutes a night. She always came to class at least fifteen minutes early, if not more. She was not the sort of girl who fell down in the hallway to be pointed and laughed at.

Granted, she wasn't the sort of girl who was noticed at all, but this was not the kind of attention she wanted.

Suddenly, twin shadows passed over Usagi's and Ami's faces just as they managed to disentangle themselves. They knelt on the floor and looked up. Ami quickly turned away, quite ashamed of herself. Usagi immediately began wailing.

Haruna Sakurada and Ami's teacher, Kawabata Daichi were standing above them. Neither of them were particularly amusing people, but Ami cringed at the manner in which they looked at them. It was as if nothing she would ever do could possibly make up for being late this one time in her life. She felt everything from her face to her elbows turn the color of raspberries.

"Tsukino," Ms. Haruna drawled. "You're late. Again."

Usagi simply wailed and paid the woman no mind.

Mr. Kawabata leaned down and attempted to look Ami in the eye, but she wouldn't let him do so. Eventually, he gave up and decided to ream her sans eye contact. "We've all come to expect this sort of behavior from students such as Tsukino, but I am surprised at you, Mizuno. You're normally such a dedicated student."

Ami foolishly looked to Usagi for aid, but received none. She was crying too much to even realize what was happening.

"I..." Ami began weakly, trying to ignore the fact that her hands were shaking. This was humiliating enough on a personal level. Was it really necessary to make it a public affair? If she were a bolder person she would have asked him, but instead she just continued to attempt to apologize, stammering and trembling all the while.

Thankfully, Ms. Haruna, who sometimes experienced oddly timed bouts of compassion, pitied the girl. "That's enough Da-- Mr. Kawabata. You both will see me after school for detention as Mr. Kawabata is otherwise occupied. I suggest we all get to class."

She turned and glared at the whispering, giggling students leaning out of their doors. "Now."

They obeyed instantly.

Ami quickly got to her feet and walked to her classroom, her face parallel with the ground. Though the students were no longer watching her from their doorways, she could still feel their cruel eyes on her and hear their unkind comments that broke her bones just as well as any projectile could. She clenched her fists and walked into the classroom, all the while willing her eyes not to burn.

* * *

Mamoru sat back on his couch, catching a quick glimpse of the time. Normally, his class would be starting in less than ten minutes, but he had been granted a much needed reprieve for the day. Well, at least the morning. Mr. Akigawa, who had promised them an exam as punishment for their lethargy, had contacted each of them the night before to inform them that he had kidney stones. He would not be coming in that day and had no time to prepare any possible replacements. Therefore, they were all to sleep in and be ready for a test that Wednesday. 

Mamoru was glad for the respite, but as he settled back and turned on his television to see whatever there was to see, he thought perhaps he wouldn't go to classes at all.

It wasn't like him to be so irresponsible. He had always been rather mature for his age. He had never skipped a class unless he was deathly ill, last Thursday notwithstanding. But something about leaving the house terrified him.

He couldn't help but think that Mr. Akigawa's sudden condition was not a coincidence. After all, everything that had happened to him as of late had been perfectly coincidental until he discovered it was actually an evil plot conceived by a bunch of loathsome hellions. He had run into Tsukino Usagi by chance, only to find her narrowly escaping death by maiming from a youma later. Several of his friends had just happened to pass out and they all just happened to have the same flower, and they had been mixed up in the same business.

And now his professor was hospitalized on the same day as an exam, something that had never occurred before. Mamoru couldn't help but worry if the enemy was at it again.

Mamoru shook his head. He was being ridiculous. Surely his ornery professor's bodily functions had nothing to do with anything of the sort. He was being paranoid.

He looked up at the television and was greeted by the news. It was grim as usual.

"Today, we have sad news to report. It appears that Matsushita Akemi, daughter of Matsushita Bishamon and his wife, Taree, disappeared last night. She was last seen coming home from a friend's house..."

Mamoru's mind raced at the news. He was unexpectedly consumed by the image of a little girl with black hair in pigtails on her way home from playing. In his mind, she was around five even though the news report suggested she was more like fifteen years old. As she was skipping along without a care in the world, a youma loomed behind her and snatched her up. The little girl screamed and tried to wriggle away, but soon both of them were gone. They would never be seen again unless the monster took pity and deposited her body on her parents' doorstep when it was finished.

He changed the channel.

"Well, it seems as if the weather has taken a drastic turn from what it was yesterday. We can expect a thunderstorm later tonight around nine, but until then, it will be just as gloomy as it looks right now."

Mamoru wondered if maybe those demons and the forces that sent them had the power to control the weather. They could rain down lightning, striking innocent pedestrians dead for their own sick amusement. Or maybe the rain would turn to ice and freeze the world over. Or maybe the thunder would be so loud that it shattered glass and made them all so disoriented that they no longer knew which way was up. Or perhaps they would bring a tempest to destroy the entire city, knowing it was far beyond his capabilities to stop.

He hit the channel up button.

"There has been a rash of break-ins over the past few days..."

Were there monsters coming into the homes? Were they leaving something deadly behind that no one would notice until it was too late? Were the real people long gone and replaced by a more intelligent race of demons?

Change.

"A four car pile up on..."

Had they crashed at the horrible sight of the demons they thought were safe and sound under the bed?

"Indicted for embezzlement and suspected to be involved with..."

Were they involved with an enemy far more important that the Yakuza? An inhuman race more influential and deadly than any author could ever imagine?

"A new shelter that provides dogs for the blind..."

Were they really cute black Labradors or hell hounds in disguise?

"This movie didn't seem to know what it was, a comedy or a drama or..."

Mamoru had always wondered if maybe movie critics were agents of the devil.

The screen abruptly went dark. He tensed, nearly leaping to his feet, when he saw the little black cat sitting in front of his television. She would have been tapping her foot if at all possible judging by her expression. A part of him regretted allowing her back into the apartment late Saturday, but another part was grateful that someone had stopped him from going completely insane.

"Mamoru," Luna chided, seeming to understand what was wrong with him. "You're making yourself sick. It will do you no good to watch the news and think what the enemy might have their hand in. You will not know until the last chip is poised to fall. They have the advantage, and we are just going to have to accept that."

The weary, amateur superhero sighed and dragged a hand down his sweat drenched face. He once again felt curses poised to fall from his lips, but he held back. There was no point to blaming God anymore. He obviously wasn't there.

"You're right," Mamoru muttered softly. "You're right. I know you're right."

Luna shook her head and padded over to him, jumping on to the couch and resting on its arm. "You're still going to worry, aren't you?"

"Of course," Mamoru responded without hesitation.

Luna sighed and clucked her tongue several times. "It will do you no good, but I can't stop you."

Mamoru rested his head on the back of the couch. "But there has been one thing that's been bothering me all weekend... And this isn't just the paranoid ramblings of a neurotic caped crusader."

Luna got up from her seat, which looked perfectly comfortable. She stretched, turned around several times, and then sat back in the exact same position as before. "I have a feeling I know what it is."

"Try me."

Luna yawned widely, clearly longing for a cat nap. "You are wondering why in a grand total of two attacks, you have had to save the same girl."

Mamoru nodded. Tsukino Usagi's persistent involvement troubled him. He hadn't wanted to think that she was somehow a partner in the wrong end of things, but he couldn't see how else it would play out. He did now realize that there were no such things as coincidences.

"It is entirely possible that she is not an enemy," Luna offered up in hopes of easing his tormented mind. "I realize that your analytical mind suggests otherwise, as does mine to be brutally honest, but it is possible. As I recall, there is some indication that certain human beings have this strange magnet for trouble. Bad karma and whatnot. It has been known to lean towards the supernatural."

Mamoru frowned. The explanation was a convenient one. He preferred it to the obvious alternative. "Is it plausible?"

"I highly doubt it," Luna admitted frankly. "However, I also find it incredibly hard to believe that Miss Tsukino is intelligent enough to pull something of that manner off. I suppose she could be acting, but she is oddly genuine for one so flippant.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll keep an eye on her because you will be going to class in two hours," Luna told him, leaving no room for argument. "If I see anything overtly evil, I'll come and get you."

Mamoru was overcome by the image of a cat bursting into the lecture hall for his British Literature class and dragging him off. He would have chuckled at the absurdity of it if it weren't so likely to occur.

"Besides, I wouldn't mind watching her for my own curiosity's sake," Luna continued as she settled down for a quick nap. "There is something different about that girl."

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" 

A gloved fist pounded against the table, the once pristine fabric now smudged and dirtied from the amount of times marble and cloth and met. The structure trembled under the sudden weight, causing the two men who were sitting at it to lean back. One of them raised his eyebrow, green eyes mocking, and said, "Really, Jadeite, you're losing your edge. That bit about turning his whole body inside out so you could pour acid on to his intestines was much more interesting. And so visual."

"Zoisite," Kunzite rebuked gently, his baritone voice treading dangerous waters as he reprimanded the smaller man while still sounding affectionate. He seemed to succeed as his lover acquiesced to silence. Kunzite then turned his attention to Jadeite, who was pacing the lengths of the chamber like a caged wildcat. "Jadeite, you need to calm down. You won't think of anything if you're this upset."

"I want to be upset!" Jadeite raged. "I have every right to be upset!"

Zoisite snorted quietly and muttered, "Can't kick yourself hard enough?"

"Quiet!" Jadeite snapped, eliciting a pout from his inferior. He ran a hand through his short, tousled locks and continued, "This is twice now. Twice he has thwarted me. Twice that I have only narrowly escaped Queen Beryl's wrath. I don't think she'll be so forgiving a third time!"

Kunzite held up a hand, attempting to placate the raging man. "I can handle Queen Beryl. Don't worry about that."

Jadeite laughed bitterly and said, "Your words can only do so much to appease the devil. Mark my words, one more failure and she'll have my head. Or worse!"

Nephrite, who was sitting next to Zoisite, did not utter a sound, but the look on his face spoke volumes.

Kunzite did not bother to argue that there would come a day when he could no longer convince the Queen to spare Jadeite's life. The ruler of the Dark Kingdom and the highest of the Dark Kings had a rapport as he was her favored. But that could only go so far.

He decided it was best to get Jadeite's mind off Beryl's wrath. It wasn't the slightest bit productive to begin with anyway. "Jadeite, you are clearly a superior fighter to this Tuxedo Kamen."

Zoisite nodded in agreement, putting his feet up on the table in a clear disregard for authority. The other three men, even Kunzite, shifted uneasily but said nothing. Zoisite had already begun to speak. "I've been studying his fighting tactics. It seems that his only power is throwing about a bunch of roses, which is really more annoying than anything else."

"How did he manage to kill two of our demons then?" Jadeite asked, glaring at the younger man out of the corner of his eye.

Zoisite shrugged and said, "He's been using weapons of opportunity - a shard of glass and a garden hose. His methods are archaic at best."

"Inexpert," Kunzite added. "He's green yet. A stronger youma would destroy him easily enough."

Jadeite shook his head, not disagreeing entirely, but feeling the need to bring up another point. "Perhaps this Tuxedo Kamen really is as inexperienced as you say. How was it that the youma did not manage to kill him outright? That's all they know how to do unless we instruct them otherwise. How did he survive their attacks?"

"You didn't send especially powerful youma, Jadeite," Zoisite pointed out.

"I didn't see a need to waste the good ones on energy collecting missions," Jadeite hissed, taking offense.

"There is a need now," Kunzite remarked coolly, ending the ensuing argument before it ever began. "Sending a powerful youma would get rid of our problem. I suggest you do it."

Jadeite nodded, knowing that a suggestion from Kunzite was just the same as an order.

"Still, that is curious," Zoisite mused, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the rock overhand that meant to be a ceiling. He turned his head to avoid a droplet of dirty water from falling on his face. "Tuxedo Kamen is undoubtedly new to the arts of war. Yet, he has survived two battles with our youma. The gods must pity him."

"A naturally born fighter?" Kunzite questioned incredulously. "I doubt it. Even with talent, he should have been annihilated."

"Perhaps he is from before," Nephrite muttered, speaking for the first time since their summit had began.

His suggestion fell on stiffened ears, suddenly wary of this being who masked his face from them. This possibility had not been considered by any, perhaps because it was the sort of thing they did not care to think on at all. But now that the prospect had been brought up, there was no sense in ignoring it.

"From before?" Jadeite repeated, shivering.

"Who could he have been?" Zoisite asked quietly, reaching for the drink he had brought with him into the meeting.

Kunzite was skeptical. "I do not remember any men from the fall who were important enough to be awakened."

Nephrite was quick to remind them of the obvious. "We remember nothing except the fall. Perhaps even that is not as clear as we would have thought."

"Scry the heavens then," Zoisite teased, his voice condescending without cause. "See what they have to tell you of this man and his involvement in the fall. Who knows? Perhaps there was a King of the Moon."

Nephrite seemed poised to say something to the other man, scowling at him dangerously. Of all the men assembled, Zoisite was by far the most contemptible. Nephrite often speculated that were he not sharing a bed with their leader that the slight man would have been done away with ages ago. However, he never voiced this aloud, fearing reprimand at Kunzite's hands... or Zoisite's for that matter.

Zoisite took another swig of the strange brown liquid, entirely oblivious to the hatred pouring off of Nephrite's considerably larger frame. He was quite content to drink in silence and let Jadeite handle his problems on his own. But that was not to be as Jadeite once again dragged him into the conversation.

"What is that stuff you're drinking?" the other blond questioned.

Zoisite rolled his eyes, visibly annoyed with having to explain yet another Terran concept to the group. Zoisite was the only one even remotely interested in the culture of Earth. He alone sought out what he considered interesting. His comrades were constantly questioning the artifacts he brought back. It irritated him to no end.

"It's a drink that the humans call 'coffee,'" Zoisite explained, speaking very slowly to make sure Jadeite's mind could encompass the relatively simple concept. "It's filled with this other substance they call 'caffeine.' It gives them energy to get through their day. It comes in other drinks, but it's especially strong in this one. But serious students sometimes will take it pill form so that they can study more."

Jadeite stared at the liquid for a moment, his forehead crinkled in thought. He tilted his head to the side and voiced, "I think I have an idea."

* * *

It was just a few minutes shy of noon when Luna arrived at Juuban Municipal Junior High School. It was lucky that she had been looking around for Sailor Senshi for several weeks prior to her discovery of Mamoru. She had visited just about every school in the Juuban district. It was easy to memorize which uniforms went to which school. She'd recognized Usagi's instantly. 

Luna padded over to the main gates of the school, now locked to prevent anyone from getting in or out. Of course, they did little to prevent her entrance as she was small enough to slip through the bars. She did commend them on their attempts, however easily overcome.

Although the yard was empty when Luna first arrived, she didn't have to wait very long for the lunch bell to ring. Before the tone had finished sounding to signal the much needed break, the doors were flung open by two overzealous male students who all but flew out into the open air. They were soon followed by their peers, all quite excited to sit down and eat and not have to memorize dates, equations, or conjugations for the next few minutes.

Luna recognized a redheaded girl who came out towards the end of the stream. She was Osaka Naru from the jewelry shop. Luna hadn't gotten a very good look at her at the time, and she looked quite different when she was conscious. Thankfully, the bow was recognizable on its own.

She stood in the doorway as a few inconsiderate students passed her by, bumping into her. Naru glared at their backs, but said nothing. She turned back to look inside the building. Several other girls Luna hadn't seen before stopped as well. Luna noted that the one carrying the rather obnoxiously sized obento box could have stood to eat a lighter lunch. The one who didn't have anything with her needed to eat... anything.

Luna scoffed disapprovingly. Teenagers.

Finally, Naru tapped her foot impatiently and called out, "Usagi! Hurry up or we'll miss lunch!"

"Coming!" called a high pitched voice from inside the school building, loud enough to make Luna wince even though she was quite some distance away.

A few seconds later, the infamous Tsukino Usagi burst forth from the building, her hair flying behind her like golden streamers. An impossibly wide smile was tattooed onto her face as she linked arms with Naru and the skinnier girl. Usagi bounded down the stairs, dragging the other two with her as she remarked on how beautiful the day was. The pudgier girl chased after them, already munching on her sandwich.

Luna was growing more and more doubtful with each passing moment that this girl was any kind of evil mastermind. Seeing where they were heading, Luna quickly darted over to the hedge lining the outside of the school. She hid herself in the bushes, watching as Usagi and her friends came to a stop just four feet away.

* * *

"Sorry, guys! I had to talk with Ms. Haruna for a minute about my detention today," Usagi explained cheerfully as she plopped down on the fresh cut grass. 

Naru laughed good-naturedly, tucking a wayward curl behind her ear. "You seem to be taking your punishment rather well, Usagi. What gives?"

Usagi was about to respond to Naru's inquiry when she suddenly noticed that the skinny girl was without a lunch. She blinked and leaned forward, saying, "Eriko, did you forget your lunch again today?"

Eriko, who had been eyeing the larger girl's oversized lunch enviously, blinked in surprise at being brought to attention. She nodded sheepishly, picking at her nails nervously. "Yes... I overslept again and didn't have a chance to make it."

"That's not a very good way to start off the week, Eriko," Naru scolded. "You really need to eat something."

Both Usagi and Naru eyed the bigger girl meaningfully, but she was too wrapped up in her food to really notice. They sat there for a full minute watching her eat before she noticed that the conversation had stopped. She stared at the three other girls in turn, crumbs outlining her formerly glossed lips, and said, "What? What did I miss? What?"

Naru sighed and rubbed her temple. "Arisu..."

"What?"

Usagi giggled. "Never mind, Arisu... Here, Eriko. Take my odango."

Eriko was about to protest, but Usagi had already gone so far as to push the round delectable into her hands and shove it towards her mouth. Seeing that she wasn't going to be able to avoid it, Eriko complied and ate the morsel hungrily. The conversation between Usagi and Naru instantly resumed as if they hadn't been interrupted.

"I'm not really down about detention today," Usagi explained. "And it's all because I won't be serving it alone for once."

Arisu paused in her activity to hold up a finger as if she had made some great discovery. "Oh, that's right! You're going to be washing the chalkboards with the genius of Juuban - Mizuno Ami!"

"Right!" Usagi chirped brightly. "It'll be nice to have some company. Besides, this way, it'll be over more quickly."

"Unless Ms. Haruna's date cancels like he did two weeks ago," Naru joked slyly.

"Then she kept you for longer, right?"

"About half an hour longer every time Usagi tells the story," Eriko added with a giggle.

Usagi stuck her tongue out at Eriko, suppressing a giggle of her own. She took a few bites of her own lunch before continuing with the conversation. "So, what do you guys know about Mizuno?"

Arisu snorted in a manner that might have been less than kind. "You mean aside from the fact that she's never missed a problem on a test since she was in the third grade?"

"I still can't believe anyone can get grades that good on their own," Eriko added snootily. "Not that I'm saying she cheats. I mean, I hear things, but I'm no gossip."

"Uh huh," Naru remarked dryly. "Don't repeat things you hear from Umino, Eriko. Usually he's right, but I think he started that rumor about Mizuno just to spite her. You know he's jealous because she's able to buy computer equipment that's top of the line before it's even out on the market."

Arisu nodded earnestly. "That's right! She's pretty rich isn't she? I hear she lives in this huge penthouse in a really exclusive building. Apparently, her mom's a really successful doctor."

Eriko sniffed. "Well, if you call being a divorcee successful."

"Eriko!" Naru scolded.

"What? I'm just telling the truth."

"You don't have to tell it like that," Naru snapped. "Usagi doesn't need Mizuno's whole history for heaven's sake."

Arisu jabbed Eriko with her elbow lightly, but the latter appeared to be rather sensitive. "Yeah, Eriko. You're not being very nice."

Eriko looked positively scandalized that she was being ganged up on. She turned to her friend and snapped, "Please, Arisu. Don't act like you weren't saying worse just the other day. Remember? When you were talking about how she must have gotten kicked out of that really expensive private school?"

Usagi, never one to doubt her friends' word but quite shocked about this revelation, turned to her mousy haired friend. "Arisu?"

"Did you really say such a thing?" Naru questioned, sounding every bit like her mother must have whenever she scolded her daughter.

The girl was obviously not meant to be able to withstand much pressure. After just a few brief seconds under the stern gazes of her three friends, Arisu cracked. She waved her hands around frantically, nearly shouting, "Well, you have to admit it is odd that she switched schools so suddenly! And why would she come here of all places? It's not a bad school, but it's not as good as that academy she was at."

"So, we decided that they must have kicked her out," Eriko finished for her quaking companion. "Probably for cheating. I bet she's still doing it."

Naru folded her arms across her chest. "That's not a very nice thing to say. You don't know if that's true."

Eriko raised an eyebrow, clearly challenging the other girl. "Do you have a better explanation?"

Naru opened her mouth to make some smart remark, but she quickly closed it. She seemed to puzzle over it for a minute, before turning to Usagi and shrugging helplessly. She didn't have a better explanation.

Usagi stared at her three friends for a moment, wishing she'd never asked about Mizuno Ami. Her lower lip trembled shortly, when she looked across the yard and saw the aforementioned genius sitting alone underneath a tree. Usagi knew that the girl usually spent her lunch breaks in the library or eating alone on the roof, but she'd come out with the rest of them today.

And not one person had gone to sit beside her.

Usagi's quivering visage suddenly shifted into one of resolve. She gathered up the rest of her lunch and pushed herself to her feet, taking her friends off guard. She looked down at them and sniffed, "I just can't believe that the Mizuno Ami I met this morning would do such a thing."

Arisu smiled sheepishly. She wasn't made of particularly strong stuff, but she wasn't completely lacking in a backbone. "Well, you have to admit, Usagi... You're not exactly a good judge of character."

"You are very trusting," Eriko added. "My mother says it's going to get you in trouble someday."

Usagi turned her nose up at the two girls dramatically and said, "Well, I know you are wrong about Mizuno. And I'm going to prove it to you. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to have lunch with Mizuno Ami. I'm sure it'll be much more fun talking to her then about her."

Then the blonde flounced away, all but skipping over to where Ami was sitting. The three other girls watched as Usagi fell down next to her, disturbing her slightly. They watched as Ami blushed for what seemed to be no apparent reason. After a few moments, they decided that watching the pair wasn't really all that interesting, so they turned back to their lunch.

None of them said another word.

* * *

Luna was now quite sure that any fears she had once had about Usagi's intentions were horribly misplaced. It wasn't exactly typical for a vessel of evil to feel so strongly about salvaging another's reputation. The enemy they were dealing with was more inclined to partake in backstabbing, blackmailing, and betrayals. She doubted they would even know the meaning of the word loyalty. So, based on Usagi's previous display, Luna decided that she could lay all of hers and Mamoru's fears about the teenager to rest. 

However, Luna was somewhat suspicious of Eriko after that display. She just wasn't an exceptionally pleasant person. But she suspected that it was just the typical antics of catty teenagers. And she wasn't much happier with Naru, whom Luna had felt some respect for up until the last few minutes. She couldn't really bring herself to care about the third one. She didn't exactly have the figure for their enemies' preferred attire.

Still, it was nice to know that she could now head back to Mamoru's apartment and catch up on her sleep. She was still a cat after all. She needed about eighteen hours a day, but recent events had prevented such a thing from happening.

Luna was about to saunter out of the bushes and be on her way, when she took a closer look over at Usagi and Ami. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about either of the girls. Usagi was chattering away happily, pausing to munch on her rice every once in awhile. The blonde seemed blissfully unaware that her companion wasn't adding much to the conversation, instead wringing her napkin in her hands.

Although Luna wasn't particularly sure why, something about the scene made her uneasy. She was just thinking about somehow sneaking over to the other side of the courtyard when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the resuming of classes. Both girls leapt to their feet, though Ami's motivations seemed to lie more in getting away from Usagi than anything else. Both girls turned and walked into the building along with the rest of their classes. Usagi was still chattering away. Ami regarded her as one would regard a three headed octopus.

Luna crawled out from underneath the hedge, shaking off a few leaves in the process. She stared after them even though they had long since disappeared. She couldn't quite place it... As a matter of fact, she didn't have so much as the slightest indication why, but something about the quiet little computer nerd made Luna stop and take notice. And that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

It seemed her cat nap would have to wait after all.

* * *

"Okay now! Here we go! Let's see... Number One. Write the equation of the axis of symmetry, find the vertex, state if the vertex is a maximum or minimum, and graph the equation y 2x2 + 12x - 11...? 

"How is anyone supposed to solve this? It's a math problem! And why are there letters in it anyway?"

Ami blinked and gasped quietly, turning to look over at where her detention companion was sitting, her hands buried in her impractically long hair. She was all but dancing in her seat, having quite a bit of trouble with the homework they'd been told to complete during their detention. Ami would have been finished with the task some time ago had she not been continually interrupted by Usagi's various array of distracting behavior.

Not that Ami really minded. While Usagi's antics were outlandish and at times outrageous, she was somewhat entertaining. Ami couldn't help but giggle when she saw Usagi give a long suffering sigh and proceed to balance her pencil on her nose. Usagi didn't seem to notice Ami's laughter, but Haruna did.

She rapped her meter stick on top of her desk, causing Ami to spin around in her seat and attack the math problems with new ferocity. Thankfully (or perhaps unfortunately), Haruna's scolding was solely directed at the underachiever.

"Tsukino!" Haruna snapped. "Get on task or I'll keep you for another hour!"

Usagi blinked rapidly and jumped, as if tempted to leap to her feet and salute. Happily, she managed to restrain herself and merely stood up to pick up her pencil, which had gone flying when she had stood up. "Y-Yes, Ms. Haruna!"

With that, Haruna went back to her book entitled _Shakespeare's Heroines_. Of course, everyone knew that it was really just a false cover to mask the fact that she was actually reading a harlequin romance novel. Usagi went right back to balancing the pencil on her nose. Ami smiled, but held back her laughter.

She glanced back down at the homework problems in front of her and began working again at a fairly steady pace. All the while, she was thinking back on the events of that day.

Today was the first time that Ami could remember eating lunch with anyone since she was very young. Granted, she hadn't said much, but Usagi hadn't seemed to mind. She hadn't meant to be rude. She'd just been so utterly shocked at Usagi's unexpected presence that Ami had been completely unable to function for a few minutes.

At the time, Ami had been quite convinced that Usagi had been sent over by her friends as a cruel joke. She'd been subjected to such childhood cruelties before. It would have made sense what with how Usagi and Ami had just met that morning. The girl could easily pretend to be her friend, gain some insight into Ami's character, and then spread vicious rumors about her. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened. That was one of the reasons why she'd left her old school after all.

Ami had all but run away from Usagi in dread, but, upon reflection, Ami couldn't help but hope that she was being unnecessarily mistrustful. There was something about Tsukino Usagi that seemed authentic. Granted, Ami had never doubted the other girls who had deceived her in the past... But there was something undeniably special about Usagi that even Ami's high verbal mind couldn't begin to name.

She paused in her work and glanced back at the girl who might yet turn out to be a friend and quietly gaped. Yes, there was something very "special" about a girl who threw herself into doodling so vigorously.

Just then, the door opened and the school secretary walked in with at least seven pencils sticking out of her hair. She blew an unruly lock of black hair out of her face and said, "Sakurada, there's a phone call for you in the office."

For the briefest of moments, Haruna looked somewhat confused. Then the secretary raised her eyebrows in a manner that must have spoken volumes to the temperamental instructor. She instantly snapped her book shut, shoving it in a drawer. She was on her feet within seconds and halfway out the door by the time she said, "I'll be back in a few minutes girls. Stay in your seats and absolutely no talking while I'm--"

Ami flinched at the force with which Haruna slammed the door.

The teacher hadn't been gone more than three seconds before Usagi bounded to her feet and began to stretch, working the kinks out of her back. She cracked her neck painfully before turning to Ami with a mega-watt smile planted on her face. "I bet this stuff's a piece of cake for you, right?"

Ami felt immense frustration as all of the blood rushed to her cheeks. She had sworn sometime earlier that if Usagi talked to her again, she wouldn't be embarrassed or flustered. There was absolutely no reason for her to blush. But for some reason, any time anyone tried to make simple conversation with Ami, her chest felt tight and she became obsessed with saying the wrong thing.

An old teacher of Ami's had once described her as being painfully shy. Ever since then, Ami had tried to find a more apt description of her character. That assessment was close, but it wasn't nearly good enough.

Before Ami could even try to respond, Usagi had skipped over to her seat and peered over her shoulder. She squawked and snatched the paper off of Ami's desk, her mouth hanging open in total admiration. "That's amazing! You're already finished?"

Ami blinked in surprise. "I-I am? I hadn't realized." She realized that such a thing must have sounded snobbish. She quickly tried to rectify her mistake. "I'm sorry. I didn't--"

Usagi had already moved on. "It really must be great to be so smart. I know I already said that earlier. But it would make school so much easier to be the girl genius, Mizuno Ami!"

Ami pursed her lips slightly and glanced down at the floor. Usagi was partially right. The actual work was easier when one had a knack for algebra or picked up scientific concepts without too much effort. But it certainly didn't make school easier. While schools in Japan were a primarily academic institution, there were still plenty of social skills meant to be developed. And that was one area in which Ami was most certainly deficient.

"I..." Ami said softly. "I'm sure you're not as bad as you think you are, Tsukino."

Usagi waved her hand flippantly and handed the worksheet back to Ami. "Don't be so formal. You call me Usagi, and I'll call you Ami. Okay?"

Ami hoped she didn't look too stunned by the suggestion. "Umm... All ri--"

"Oh, look!" Usagi exclaimed, looking at the window. She jogged over, forcing Ami to follow her with her line of vision. She gasped as Usagi opened the window, allowing a rather serious looking dark cat to come into the room. "I know this kitty! We're old friends!"

Usagi bent down to scratch her ears. The feline had come in with a clear purpose and mission in mind (or at least that's what her expression suggested), but she was now too busy reveling in Usagi's attentions. The girl giggled and then looked over to Ami. "Her name's Luna. Her owner's this really nasty college student I've been running into a lot lately. Isn't a shame that she has to put up with him all the time? I mean look at her! She's so cute with her little crescent shaped bald spot!"

As if that cat could actually understand what she was saying, her blissful visage twisted into one of utter disgust. She flipped her tail haughtily and sauntered over to Ami.

If she hadn't known better based on her logical reasoning and prior experience, Ami would have sworn on her mother's eventual grave that the cat had come into that room just to get a closer look at her. Something about that thought put Ami ill at ease. She almost backed away, but the cat was underfoot far too quickly. She still looked as if she was deep in thought, meowing thoughtfully. She rubbed up against Ami's leg, making her skin tingle...

The cat's midnight hair stood straight on end, her tail puffing out to three times its original size. Her eyes dilated completely and her ears lay flat against her head. She even started shaking, prompting Ami and Usagi to exchange an anxious glance.

It was then that they heard the door creak open behind them, Haruna's footsteps clacking against the tile floor viciously. She paused when she saw both girls out of their seats, with a cat no less, and slammed the door angrily.

"TSUKINO!" Haruna raged, stomping over to the pair. "What did I tell you about staying in your seat and working!"

Usagi stammered, powerless in the face of the woman who once been referred to as the Human Tempest.

"And Mizuno! I'm surprised at you. You're usually so well behaved..." Haruna gave Ami a look as if the girl had just been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given six weeks to live.

Ami thought she _was_ going to be ill.

Haruna's attentions didn't remain on Ami for too long. Naturally, she decided that Usagi really was all to blame for everything and anything that went wrong. "I trust I can credit you with the demoralization of the other students, Tsukino? You are such a bad influence! I have half a mind to call your mother and inform her to keep you and your brother apart for fear of corrupting him further."

Judging by the look on Usagi's face, she wasn't entirely sure whether or not that was necessarily a bad thing.

The cat hadn't so much as twitched since she'd rubbed up against Ami's leg. Haruna regarded the animal with repugnance. But she saw no other option than to pick it up by the scruff, holding it at arm's length as if it too was diseased. She quickly moved over to the open window and tossed it out, ignoring Usagi's pleas not to harm it. Haruna then slammed the window shut and locked it, just to ensure that the cat couldn't get back in.

The ill tempered teacher turned back to the girls, clearly displeased. For a moment, Ami actually thought she saw a fang sticking out of Haruna's lips, but she must have been mistaken.

"Return to your seats at once!" Haruna snapped. "I'm giving you both an extra hour of detention!"

Ami and Usagi both quickly scrambled back to their desks, the latter instantly going back to her all important doodle in an attempt to look like she was working. As Haruna stomped by Ami's desk, she could have sworn she heard the teacher mutter something bitterly... Something about how it was just as well they were staying because she no longer had anything to do that night.

She mulled over the implication for a few moments before happening upon the obvious answer. Predictably, she blushed once again.

* * *

He was running, of that much he could be sure. But where he was running to or who he was running away from or why he couldn't just walk was a mystery to him. Typically, he was racing through fog so thick that he couldn't see more than few inches in front of him. Sometimes it seemed as if the fog had appendages reaching out like vines to wrap around his ankles and slow him down. The thought made him shudder and press on that much faster to avoid being trapped. He thought his reservations were more than likely unfounded as he quickened his laborious pace. 

He was aware of a cape fluttering behind him, but he wasn't Tuxedo Kamen. He knew he wasn't wearing a mask. He was also aware of something heavy continually banging against his left side painfully. A sword perhaps? He looked down, but he couldn't see what he was wearing.

_help me_

He stopped for a moment and turned to the east where the voice had come from. And all at once, he knew his purpose. He had to find the owner of that voice. That girl who sounded so broken and alone. He had to find her and help her. He had to save her. He had to do her every bidding until she was smiling again.

_please help me_

He sprang forward, running faster than he ever had before. He didn't know what sort of danger she was in or why she was important to him, but he had to find her. He wouldn't rest until she was safe and in his arms again.

_help me please_

He ran and ran and ran, but he knew he wasn't getting anywhere. She sounded just as far away from him as she had been when he started.

He came to a halt and looked around, hoping to see her silhouette in the fog. He saw nothing but gray. He let out a frustrated groan and shouted, "How! How can I help you!"

_find it_

"MAMORU!"

"Find what!" Mamoru shouted hoarsely as he sat straight up in bed. His heart was pounding in his chest as if it was trying to escape. He looked around the room wildly, surprised that he could see something besides impenetrable grey...

Finally, he realized that he must have been dreaming again judging by the irritated expression on Luna's face.

"Tell me, Mamoru, why is it that every time I wake you up from a deep slumber, you always find it necessary to scream in my ear?" she quipped briskly.

"Sorry," Mamoru muttered quietly, not feeling the least bit apologetic. "I've been having a lot of..."

Mamoru was about to tell her about his dreams, but halfway through the sentence he thought better of it. Granted, he couldn't make sense of these nightmares and perhaps Luna could help. But they were still too private. He felt as if they were an important part of his identity that if revealed would render him utterly useless as a human being.

"Sorry," he ended lamely.

Luna resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her increasingly more frustrating charge. "Well, do try to break the habit if at all possible. Now, I just got back from Juuban Junior High, and I think we can definitely write off the possibility that Miss Tsukino is an agent for the forces of evil."

Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief. Well, at least something was going right. "I'm glad. I'd hate to think that my saving her life has been a complete waste of effort." He paused. "Actually, it could still prove to be a waste of effort, but I won't be sure of that until she's at least twenty-five."

"Don't try to be funny," Luna reproached affably. "But even if we have decided that Usagi isn't evil, I may have inadvertently discovered another potential threat."

Mamoru felt his heart sink, but he supposed it was better if they knew about such things beforehand. Maybe they could prevent a disaster this time instead of showing up in the middle of it. "What is it?"

"Who is it, you mean," Luna corrected, swishing her tail back and forth thoughtfully. "While I was watching over Usagi, I happened to see her go and talk to one of the other students. Something about this second girl piqued my interest, so I stayed around after school. It seems the two were late and earned themselves a detention."

Mamoru snorted. "Figures."

Luna continued on as if he hadn't said anything. "Their teacher left after awhile and Usagi let me in." She frowned darkly, a vein popping out on the top of her head. "And that child once again saw fit to refer to my mark as a bald spot! Can you imagine? The nerve! I tell you, I'd like to sit her parents down and give them a good talking to about teaching their daughter proper respect! And furthermore--"

"Uh, Luna?" Mamoru ventured cautiously, not wanting to be the brunt of Luna's wrath if he could help it. "Weren't we discussing a prospective evildoer?"

"Oh. Yes. Of course. How silly of me," the cat said, continuing. "So, I went over to this second girl and rubbed up against her... And I tell you, it's like someone had just shocked me. It felt like the temperature in the room dropped about fifty degrees. I've never been so shaken up in all my life. The teacher had to remove me." Luna flinched. "So humiliating."

Mamoru frowned. According to just about every movie on the devil and the occult ever made, a sudden drop in temperature was often accompanied by the presence of evil. This did not bode well for their cause or for the people of Tokyo at large. "I don't suppose you happened to get her name?"

Luna nodded. "Mizuno Ami."

Mamoru blinked, momentarily taken aback. That name sounded so familiar. He had read it somewhere very recently. However, there was something not quite right about it.

He snapped his fingers as the epiphany came upon him. "Hang on a minute," he directed, throwing the covers off his bed. He hastily made his way to the bathroom where he'd set up Luna's toilet facilities a few days earlier. He had lined the litter box with old newspapers in spite of Luna's assurances that she was fully capable of managing without it.

He scanned the different articles with a trained eye until he found the one he sought. He pulled it out from underneath the box carefully, dusting some of the sand off of it. He crouched down next to Luna, who had just padded in, and pointed to the article where he had seen that name before.

Luna skimmed it quickly, reading the headline aloud. "Female Doctor Wins Prestigious Award?"

"Right," Mamoru said excitedly. "This doctor's name is Mizuno Emi. Look at the picture. Does she look anything like the girl you saw this afternoon?"

Luna squinted her eyes slightly to try and make out the doctor's features in the grainy black and white photograph. "The resemblance is uncanny," she remarked. After a few more moments, Luna gasped and shouted, "Wait! She's in the picture too! Look at the girl standing towards the back!"

Mamoru took a closer look at the photograph and saw that there was indeed a young girl around Usagi's age standing towards the background. Someone had obviously forced her to be in the photograph with her mother, whom she resembled in almost every way possible. She was doing her best not to be noticed, trying to blend into the background. She had done a fairly good job. Mamoru never would have spotted her were it not for Luna's keener eyesight.

"So, that's Mizuno Ami..." Mamoru murmured thoughtfully. "Do you really think she's evil?"

Luna frowned. "I'm not sure whose side she's on. But I can assure you of one thing. There is no question in my mind that she's somehow involved in all of this. Whether for better of for worse, we'd do well to keep an eye on her."

Mamoru pursed his lips, staring at the girl in the background intently. He could tell so much about her already. She didn't like being noticed. She was probably shy, anti-social. No doubt she was extremely intelligent with a mother like that. There was no mention of a father or husband, which spoke volumes about how she'd deal with members of the opposite sex.

But it wasn't just how she appeared in the photograph that made him feel as if he knew her. There was something about little Mizuno Ami that sent off alarms in the back of his mind. And it was something important.

"Then we'll do just that."

* * *

Ami had wound up being even later to Crystal Seminar Cram School than she had anticipated. There seemed to be something in Usagi's very nature that just refused to allow her to act like a typical human being. While uniqueness was an admirable quality in a society that valued conformity, it proved to be quite tiresome when Haruna continually kept both of them from leaving on time due to Usagi's lack of work ethic among other things. 

She'd slipped into class and sat at the very back amongst the sleepers and the socialites. They'd all given her a look that made it perfectly clear that they neither expected her nor wanted her there. Ami had done her best to focus on her work and ignore them in kind.

Ami was actually quite glad that she had been so late in that respect. She hadn't been forced to sit back there for too long. She was nearly out the door when she took a glance at her reading glasses and deemed them too dirty to remain as such for any longer. She pulled them off and proceeded to clean them with her blouse, inadvertently eavesdropping on a few conversations in the process.

"What have you got there, Touya?"

"Are those caffeine pills?"

"Yeah! I just found a bunch sitting on my desk when I got into the classroom. Isn't it weird that someone would just leave them sitting around like that?"

"Especially right out in the open where the teacher could see."

"Hey, could I take one of those from you? I have a huge history exam tomorrow."

"Yeah, and I have this Math test I need to study for."

"You have an English test too you know."

"I don't have enough for everyone..."

"I heard that Masuyo and Kyoko found a bunch too!"

"That is so weird."

"Let's find them before they leave!"

Ami watched as the group of students ran to find their friends, resisting the urge to shake her head like a world weary woman mourning the decline of Japanese youth. She glanced around and saw several other students slipping the little white miracle pills into their pockets. She narrowed her eyes and slipped her glasses back into their case angrily.

Schools were becoming increasingly more competitive with each passing year. Students had been conditioned by overzealous parents and well meaning, but misguided, teachers that if they weren't on top, they were a complete failure. Ami felt the pressure just like everyone else, but she knew she would never stoop to taking caffeine pills to stay up late just to get in extra study time. Not only was it an unfair advantage, but it simply wasn't healthy.

Ami gave one last disapproving shake of her head before turning on her heel and stalking out of the building. Never once did she give any thought to just how all of those pills had mysteriously found their way into the classroom. She also failed to make note of the way her professor glared at her back as she went out the door.

* * *

Later that evening, Mamoru was once again sitting on his couch in the living room, flipping channels and looking for something to distract himself. He hoped that the brewing storm wouldn't knock the power out and take away any hope of diversion. He refused to allow his thoughts to run away with him into the realm of paranoia once more. Instead he tried to completely zone out and simply stop thinking as he had once done as a child. The task turned out to be much more arduous than he thought and more trouble than it was worth as it gave him a bit of a headache. He quickly decided to forgo the exercise. 

Of course, what he wanted to do was track down this Mizuno Ami, back her into a corner, and interrogate her as to her motives. Who was she working for? Why was she against them? Was she against them? How was she involved in all of this? Is that hair color genetic or what?

Luna had told him that his plan was quite unreasonable and would probably cause the girl to have a nervous breakdown anyway. It didn't sound like anyone who could be behind mass amounts of death and destruction, but he couldn't take any chances. Not with so many people's lives at stake.

Mamoru's migraine increased tenfold with that thought. He set down the remote control and proceeded to nurse his headache, furrowing his brow in a manner that would only serve to make it worse in the long run.

There were many lives at stake if everything Luna was telling him wasn't a flagrant exaggeration. The entire world was at stake. And somehow someone had seen fit to rest that heavy load on his shoulders.

What made him so special? What made him qualified enough to take on such an immense responsibility? There were days when he found himself almost wishing for a giant comet to come and wipe out the entire human race so that they could all start fresh. But the powers that be saw fit to put him in charge of the fate of humanity?

It didn't make sense. How could one man be given such a task? True, he and Luna were searching for allies, but how long would it take to find them? And would they be willing to help when he found them?

Had he been given a choice, he would have refused to take part in this grand destiny that had been bestowed them. But he had not been allowed that opportunity.

But no matter what the outcome of that would be, the fact still remained that for the time being, Mamoru was on his own. He supposed it shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did. After all, he'd always been alone for as far back as he could remember.

He flinched almost imperceptibly as the television show he hadn't been watching went to commercial. The dark mood lighting was wiped out and replaced by the bright, garish colors of some anime or another. He recognized the theme playing in the background instantly, but it took him a minute to identify the show it was paired with.

A girl with hair that was too long and a skirt that was too short appeared on the screen clad in a mockery of a school girl uniform. Her face was concealed with a red mask that had become ingrained into the memory of every child under the age of fifteen. She struck a series of poses and announced herself with much enthusiasm.

"Sailor V!"

Mamoru winced again at the sight of this lone soldier. He suddenly realized that although he hadn't seen so much as one second of that television show, he instantly identified with the main character, mini-skirt and all.

"Mamoru?"

He looked over at his feline companion who was curled up beside him. He'd assumed she was asleep as that was how she generally preferred to bide her time. But Luna was in fact wide awake and looking as if she was quite troubled about something... namely him.

"Is everything all right?" Luna asked gently, sounding strangely empathetic.

He was tempted to give his usual stock response that he was fine. That was the sort of thing one said when one would simply rather not talk about one's emotional state. Nevertheless, something or another prompted him to look away from Luna and gaze at the television screen as Sailor V did a number of impressive acrobatics before the announcer informed him of what network the show ran on.

"I was just thinking," Mamoru admitted softly. "Sailor V fights alone."

Luna looked at him benevolently, automatically understanding just what it was he was feeling even though he hadn't said much. She knew she was asking a lot of him, fighting alone. He'd handled the situation remarkably well for anyone, but it was already beginning to take its toll. She was doing all she could to help him... But a cat could only do so much.

She hopped up out of her incredibly cozy seat on the couch and stretched out her spine for a few moments. Then she padded over to where Mamoru was sitting. She gingerly stepped onto his lap and turned around several times before she found a suitably comfortable position. She curled up on his lap, purring loudly.

Mamoru stared at her openly for a minute before breaking into a soft smile. He reached out and pet her gently, causing her purr to double in volume. The two did not always get along particularly well, but it was nice to know that he had least had a nagging feline for company.

Meanwhile, the ad for the anime show had prompted a similar thought process in Luna's little head. She had been searching for the legendary Sailor Senshi for months on end with no luck whatsoever. She hadn't expected to see them running around blasting people with fire and ice and thunder, but she'd hoped for better luck than she was having.

Thus far, all she'd managed to do was find Mamoru. While that was something of an accomplishment, it was all the more frustrating because she had no idea how he fit into the grand scheme of things. She had no memory of an important male figure from the Silver Millennium much less anyone who ran around calling themselves Tuxedo Kamen.

And then she'd also found Ami, but that girl was even more of a mystery than Mamoru. She knew next to nothing about her or what she was capable of. The only thing she did know was that she'd given Luna a very nasty case of the chills, but that certainly didn't divulge much...

Suddenly, Luna sat up. She blinked. She stopped purring. She blinked again.

And she realized something.

"By Serenity..." Luna breathed.

"What is it?" Mamoru asked, momentarily worried.

"I can't believe I missed it."

* * *

The next morning, Ami left the house several minutes earlier than usual. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of yesterday. As entertaining as Usagi had been, Ami didn't care for an encore performance. 

She hadn't been walking for all that long when she passed by a high brick wall that she'd never really paid much attention to before. But for whatever reason, Ami happened to glance up on that particular day. She did a double take, recognizing a little black cat from the day before.

"Oh, it's you!" Ami exclaimed, hoping no one was around to see her talking to a cat. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

The cat eyed her for a minute and then jumped down, landing deftly on the girl's shoulder. Ami swayed to compensate for the extra weight, but she maintained her balance easily enough. She smiled and reached over to scratch the cat under her chin, eliciting a purr from deep within her chest.

Ami giggled quietly. "Good kitty. What is it Usagi called you? Luna?"

She meowed as if to answer affirmatively.

"I guess I'm right," Ami laughed, walking forward slowly to ensure the cat didn't tumble off her shoulder. Then, as genuinely happy as she was to see Luna, Ami's blue eyes softened, even growing a little despondent. "Sometimes I wish my building allowed pets. I think I'd like to have a cat of my own."

Luna meowed again as if to ask why.

Ami frowned slightly. "It just gets so lonely up in that big apartment every night. I'm at school most of the day, and then I do nothing but study once I get home. It keeps me busy, but... it doesn't change the fact that the penthouse is empty night after night.

"You see, my mother's a very successful doctor. But to be as good as she is, she has to work a lot. I hardly ever see her for very long. You know, I don't think I've actually seen her face since last Tuesday. Isn't that awful?"

Luna meowed once more, this time sympathetically. Then she sat up a little and butted her head up under Ami's chin.

Ami smiled again and said, "Why, Luna, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you understood what I was saying."

"I think that sometimes myself."

Before Ami even finished turning around, she could tell that her ears were burning. Although, this time she didn't feel quite as bad. It really was quite embarrassing to be caught talking to something that couldn't talk back. She did however feel immensely frustrated with herself when she flushed darker when she saw that she had been addressed by a good looking young man, presumably the unpleasant cat owner Usagi had spoken of the other day.

"I'm sorry," Ami apologized without having actually committed any type of offense. "I didn't realize... That is, I--"

The young man smiled and held up his hand in an attempt to placate her. "Don't worry about it. I should be the one to apologize for sneaking up on a girl so deeply engrossed in such lively conversation with my cat."

Ami seriously considered leaping into the busy lane of traffic. Surely it would have been a kinder fate than this.

He chuckled at the mortified look on Ami's face and clapped his hands softly. "Here, Luna!"

The cat obeyed instantly, gracefully leaping off Ami's shoulder and bounding onto her owner's. He petted her affectionately before turning back to Ami, an apologetic look on his face. "Forgive my rudeness. I didn't introduce myself." He bowed deeply and said, "I'm Chiba Mamoru. I see you've already met Luna."

Ami nodded as if she were a robot whose gears hadn't been oiled for several months. She returned his bow just as awkwardly. "I'm Mizuno Ami. And yes, I did. She... stopped by after school the other day. Tsukino Usagi introduced us."

Mamoru scowled darkly. "I should have guessed Odango was behind it."

Ami tightened her grip on her briefcase and stepped back in surprise. "What was that?"

"Never mind," Mamoru insisted, instantly pleasant. "It isn't important."

"Oh," Ami murmured, looking quite bewildered. Still, she saw an opportunity to leave with that statement. She bowed before he could try and continue the conversation. "If you'll excuse me, I really must get to class. Good-bye!" She turned and fled, looking all too glad to get away from him.

* * *

"I knew this kid once back in Junior High," Mamoru told Luna some time after Ami had run off. "His name was Goro. He used to get so flustered when he was called on in class that he'd have these panic attacks and start hyperventilating. I tried to talk to him once. He nearly passed out." 

Luna looked up at him, mystified as to why he was telling her this. "Your point?"

"I don't have one," Mamoru divulged nonchalantly. "I was just reminded of him for some reason."

Luna heaved a sigh. "She really is shy, isn't she?"

"Oh, there must be a better word to illustrate what Mizuno Ami is," Mamoru declared. "There's timid. Inhibited. Reticent. Something. Shy just doesn't cut it." He glanced down at his companion, his uncertainty growing with each breath. "Are you absolutely sure she's involved?"

"Yes," Luna guaranteed him. "Trust me. We have definitely found an ally in that girl."

Mamoru wasn't exactly pleased with her evaluation. "I don't suppose there's any chance that I can go back to being the lone hero, is there?"

* * *

Later that day... 

"Just so you know, I'm not going to allow you to miss any more classes after this," Luna informed him sternly.

Mamoru grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

Both caped crusader and talking cat were sitting outside Juuban Municipal Junior High School, waiting for the final bell to ring. Mamoru had once again been forced to duck out of one his classes. He realized his professors were growing increasingly annoyed with him, but surely gathering allies in order to prevent the upcoming apocalypse was a valid excuse to miss a lecture, right?

"So, Luna," Mamoru began as he ran a hand through his aberrantly unkempt hair. "How exactly are we supposed to approach this girl I've talked to for all of fifteen seconds, sit her down, and tell her that she's a member of an ancient alien civilization destined to save the world from certain doom and protect the heir to throne of a kingdom that fell approximately forty generations ago?"

Luna looked at him reproachfully. "Well, when you say it like that..."

"Then how should I say it? Because I got to tell you, I really don't think the direct approach is going to work with this girl As a matter of fact, I'm not sure any approach is going to." Mamoru rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was becoming increasingly more stressful.

"I'll come up with something," Luna reasoned. "Just... give me a minute."

As if on cue, the final bell resounded. Students poured out like they had just been released from a penitentiary.

Mamoru looked over at her meaningfully. "You'd better think faster cat. I don't want to miss her. I didn't miss a lecture to sit outside some junior high school for the past hour and a half waiting for some school girl who--"

"What? Are you stalking me now?"

Mamoru must have leapt close to five feet into the air at the sound of that all too familiar soprano. When he landed, he found himself gaping at a very unhappy Tsukino Usagi. She was filled with what she must have believed to have been righteous indignation for reasons he couldn't begin to speculate on.

"Odango!" Mamoru exclaimed, laughing nervously. "I didn't know you--"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Mamoru flinched and rubbed his right ear in the aftermath of the explosion. "Must you always do that?"

"Yes," Usagi said plainly. "Until you stop calling me by that awful name. And until you stop following me everywhere."

He resisted the urge to bang his head against the tree. He scoffed openly at the notion. "Don't flatter yourself, Odango Atama. I am not following you. I happen to be waiting for a friend of mine that I haven't talked to in quite awhile. I didn't even know you went to school here."

Under normal circumstances, Usagi probably would have accepted his explanation. Sadly, she wasn't as willing to trust this man as she did all other human beings. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him accusingly. "I don't believe you. First, you show up at my absolute favorite hang out even though I had never seen you there before ever, and now you appear at my school?"

Mamoru shrugged, at a loss for what else to do. He suddenly wished that talking cats weren't such an abnormality so that Luna could come to his rescue. "Coincidence."

"Liar!" Usagi shouted, stamping her foot just to cement her childishness.

Mamoru coughed to avoid laughing out loud. He leaned forward and said, "Did it ever occur to you that perhaps you never saw me at the Crown before because you're always in detention?"

Usagi's jaw quite literally dropped. It was rather impressive actually. She gawked at him, croaking out what might have been insults for several minutes. Finally, she just growled at him in complete and utter frustration and spun around, smacking him in the face with one of her pigtails in the process.

He spit out a mouthful of hair, watching her retreating back with equal parts amusement and annoyance.

"That girl..." Mamoru all but snarled as she went out of ear shot. "She is clinically insane. Or terminally irritating. Either way, it's permanent and it isn't a character trait one should strive for."

"I'd say she's leaning towards the latter at the moment," Luna said with a long suffering sigh. "It appears that we've lost Ami."

Mamoru looked around frantically the moment he heard the news, searching around for a tuft of blue hair. It seemed that students who weren't involved in extra-curriculars left rather quickly. The courtyard was virtually empty.

He once again eyed the tree trunk, reasoning that ramming one's head into a solid object three feet in diameter was surely less painful than what he was currently enduring.

* * *

Mamoru wasn't able to track down Ami until the following day on her way to cram school. He tracked her at a distance, thanking genetics or Clairol® for giving her blue hair. It was close enough to mistake for black, but his trained eye was able to keep in sight without too much difficulty. He kept his eyes on their prey while Luna remained on the lookout for a certain towheaded trouble maker. 

Ami, for her part, was entirely unaware of the fact that she was being tailed. To the casual observer, she was far too engrossed in her book to be paying the outside world much mind. She garnered several passing glances as people passed, marveling at the dedication and talent of a student who would go so far as to read _Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases_ on her way to juku.

In actuality, Ami had been staring at the same page for the past ten minutes. The look on her face was often mistaken for one of intense concentration on a difficult subject. In truth, it was one of concern for the well being of the students in her cram school.

She had spent the last forty-eight hours or so thinking back on the caffeine pill incident. She would have liked to have discussed it with her mother, but she hadn't been home for several days. At least, not any time when Ami was awake. Her illegible notes and infrequent phone calls were the only things that convinced Ami that she was still alive. Of course, Ami was a capable young woman and had managed to reach a decision on her dilemma without outside assistance.

She would simply have to go to the teacher and explain the situation. There was no other course that she could take. Her classmates wouldn't be the least bit pleased with her of course, but then it wasn't as if she was falling off a very high pedestal.

Ami resisted the urge to sigh, opting instead to think about Usagi. She had spent every lunch hour with Ami since the beginning of that week. Ami had even stopped turning red every time the girl talked to her. And while Usagi's usual crowd whispered every time she walked by, it didn't bother Ami as much any more. She and Usagi weren't close... As a matter of fact, Ami still didn't get a chance to say much during their lunches thanks to Usagi's wide range of meaningless topics to prattle on about. But there was potential.

Tsukino Usagi might just prove to be Ami's long awaited friend.

Ami flashed her I.D. card at the burly security guard posted in the front with a quiet smile on her face. He seemed quite surprised at her expression.

Ami quickly ascended the seven flights of stairs to her classroom, tucking her book into her briefcase with practiced skill. She turned into her room, expecting to see students glancing over the day's material with the occasional socializing.

When she looked out at the classroom, she stopped dead in her tracks.

The students within were far outside their normal behavioral schemes. Though they weren't running about like nine year olds, Ami got the distinct impression that they would gladly be doing so and far worse if decorum permitted. Their eyes were wide, and some gave her the distinct impression that they had not slept since she last saw them. Others talked at rapid speeds, gesturing wildly and with shaking hands. And still more fidgeted, occasionally glancing out the window as if attempting to leap out of it just for the expenditure of energy.

She wasn't sure just what had surprised her so much about the display. It wasn't the norm, but to most, it wouldn't be noteworthy. She did know about the caffeine pills.

Still and all, Ami couldn't shake a nagging feeling that there was something sinister bubbling beneath the surface.

At that precise moment, the professor strode in hurriedly, hoisting her briefcase up onto the desk with a loud bang. That startled everyone into silence. They all moved to their seats obediently. Only Ami lagged behind, poised to speak up now about the problem.

"Excuse me--"

However, when the teacher shot her a withering glance accompanied by the snickers of more than a few of her classmates, she thought better of it. She coughed slightly and made her way to a desk towards the middle of the class. She made a supreme effort to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room, realizing that her confrontation was just going to have to wait until the class was over.

The stern teacher looked out at the assembled students with an appraising eye. She was new, having just started that week as a matter of fact. Ami wasn't sure what had happened to the last one. Nor did she know what this teacher's name was, thanks to her tardiness earlier in the week. But it didn't take a particularly sharp person to discern that this teacher was like many others - cold, demanding of respect, and possessing a distaste for any student showing the slightest bit of happiness.

It was something that soured Ami, but it was a reality to which she had reluctantly grown accustomed.

It was then that the teacher did something Ami immediately thought of as odd.

She smiled.

Teachers weren't exactly the happy-go-lucky sort. It was rare to see them express any sort of emotion aside from disdain or distant pride. But then, this smile was hardly a joyous one. As a matter of fact, Ami quickly decided that this grin was best classified under a sneer.

Her skin began to crawl.

"I would like to thank you for all of your hard work thus far," the teacher remarked coldly. "You have obviously worked long hours to get to where you are right now and given a lot of yourselves willingly." A vein popped out on the left side of her head. "However, some things must be taken by force."

The teacher flipped open her briefcase with a deft flick of her wrist, her joints bending a bit more than Ami was used to seeing. But she was more surprised by what she didn't see - the inside of the briefcase.

There was nothing beyond the supple leather than a black void. Ami immediately got the sensation that it was something akin to a tunnel. She narrowed her eyes, studying the phenomena with acute interest. That is, until she noted that her esteemed colleagues were dropping to the floor like so many flies.

She cried out as the boy next to her fell over on top of her. Ami leapt to her feet to avoid being entirely flattened by his superior weight. She stared at him for a moment before curbing her attention to the other students. Slowly, their skin turned ashen grey and their eyes rolled back into their heads. From there, gravity took over.

Fearing the worst, Ami crouched down to the boy next to her. With a trembling hand, she reached out and grasped his wrist. After several moments, she decided that she did indeed feel a pulse, weak though it was. She breathed a sigh of relief and straightened. She was now the only person in the room on her feet aside from her teacher.

Ami turned to the older woman, her tone automatically accusing. "What's going on here?"

The teacher regarded her with some interest. Then she seemed to come to some conclusion, darkening in response to her epiphany. "Ah, yes. Now I remember. The little girl who found the others' methods so distasteful. I should have anticipated on you being a problem."

Ami took a step back even though there was a good eight feet between her and the teacher. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I suppose I should at least explain it to you," the woman expressed coolly as she shut her briefcase, pushing her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose. "You see, I planted the caffeine pills."

Ami gaped. She'd heard of teachers who employed questionable methods to ensure their students' advancement, but nothing like this. "You? But... But why?"

"It had to be those you see," the woman explained, circling the desk to come stand in front of it. "Any caffeine pill would have raised their energy level. But only ours would have made them susceptible to the drain."

Ami narrowed her eyes, trying to make some kind of sense of what the woman was saying. Thus far, no luck. "The drain?"

"Yes," she continued. "I thought maybe you would have changed your mind or that perhaps you would have fallen victim anyway. I was obviously most mistaken. Ah, well. It's really no matter."

She looked up at the school girl with eyes that had been brown throughout their conversation. But when she blinked, Ami barely managed to suppress a shriek now that they were of a glowing yellow hue. The woman cracked her neck and hissed, "I always get what I want."

Then the woman before her shut her eyes tightly as if in extreme pain. Her flesh began to shift and change, bones cracking and moving back into different places. Her muscles rippled and bulged underneath skin that was slowly shifting in color. She cried out, her screams becoming progressively less human.

When it was all over, Ami found herself staring at something out of some twisted imagination.

Ami gawked at the abomination that stood before her. It was a mutation of human symmetry with one repulsively muscular arm dragging on the ground. It was painful to look at with bright blue skin and spiked green hair. The vertebrae of the... thing were not so much bones but knobs, poking out through the nearly translucent hide. Four claw marks ran across its face from prominent forehead to misshapen jaw. It was covered in a plethora of other battle scars that was less than the amount of clothing it more. Ami's fears were not assuaged when she realized that it was actually the pelt of something very much like itself.

The easily flustered genius was used to turning red with emotion. She could not remember any situation in which all of the blood had literally drained from her face.

She was frozen in place, unable to so much as tremble, as the monster looked her up and down with abhorrence. Then it broke into a sick, clownish grin. Ami shuddered at how the teeth were stained green. Something deep in her gut told her that it wasn't due to the youma's vegetarian diet. "Pity you didn't follow the crowd, missy. It would have saved you a great deal of pain."

Ami felt as if someone had poured cement all over her body, rooting her to her spot. As she watched the monster draw its normal sized hand back, calling forth a jaundice inspired glow of some sort, she could do nothing but marvel at the impossibility of what was happening to her. Surely she had passed out or hit her head or some other physical trauma had occurred to concoct this elaborate hallucination.

But when the monster thrust its hand forward, calling something out in what may or may not have been an actual language, adrenaline at last kicked in. She got her wits about her, gritted her teeth, and listened to an overwhelming impulse that all but shouted the obvious response in her mind.

_'MOVE.'_

* * *

Under normal circumstances, Mamoru would have praised the notion of having a security guard posted outside of a juku. Students would often not even begin to venture home until nearly dark. Any educated person knew that while Tokyo was a safe city to walk around in late at night, the government embellished certain details to a degree. And Mamoru knew better than anyone that walking around in Tokyo alone had become a life or death risk virtually overnight. 

However, at the moment, Mamoru would have very much liked to beat the security guard he was dealing with over the head. He was a walking stereotype. All muscle and no brains.

"Look," Mamoru attempted for what must have been the eighth time. "I'm telling you. My mother has just been admitted to the hospital. She was in a car accident. I have to get my sister and go there before she goes in to surgery. Please, let me through."

"You can't get in without I.D."

Mamoru did his best to remain calm, glancing briefly over at Luna who was trying to sneak past the muscular Neanderthal. "I don't understand why you just can't come with me while I get her," Mamoru ranted, fully knowing that such a thing would be disastrous as Ami would be quite confused and possibly very afraid when a strange man showed up claiming to be her relative. But he was relying on Luna at this point, so it was immaterial. "You walk me in. You walk me out. You make sure I don't do anything unsavory. Everyone's happy!"

"You can't get in without I.D."

Mamoru ran a hand down his face in exasperation. As his fingers passed over his eyes, he peeked through them to catch a glimpse of Luna. She was tiptoeing right by the guard, just a few more steps from her goal...

When he followed Mamoru's gaze and saw the cat attempting to infiltrate his precious facility, he reached down and picked her up roughly by the scruff of her neck, eliciting a pained meow from Luna's throat. Mamoru immediately reached out and took her from the guard, petting her to soothe the pain.

She may have driven him up the wall more often than not, but she was still his only ally. Well, until he got upstairs anyway.

All of a sudden, Mamoru got a very rotten feeling right in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't nearly as debilitating as his other headaches, but he was still certain that something big was about to happen. He swallowed on a dry throat and looked up at the guard.

"Listen to me," Mamoru instructed. "I have to get up there. Don't you understand? It's a matter of life and death. I--"

And in what would have been the perfect cinematic moment had this been a movie, Mamoru's words were cut off by the windows blowing out on the seventh floor of the building. Sickly yellow light flashed above as shards of glass rained down like razor hailstones. Mamoru covered Luna with his jacket and ducked his head to protect himself from the painful cascade, flinching in sympathy when the security guard cried out in pain.

When the downpour stopped, Mamoru looked over at his one obstacle to admittance. He was too busy nursing several oozing cuts as well as trying to reconcile himself with what had just happened. Mamoru seized his opportunity and ran forward, bursting through the doors before the guard even realized he was gone.

"How much do you want to bet Ami's on that floor?" Mamoru hissed in Luna's ear as he began his ascent, looking for a place to transform.

"I don't gamble," Luna muttered. "But I'll lay odds on one thing. Where the Senshi go, trouble will surely follow."

* * *

Ami stared at the blown out windows in complete shock. The youma had been aiming directly at her chest. Surely the force of such a blast would have torn her to shreds! 

She was shaking at the insight, but she didn't have very long to dwell on it. She shrieked and dove out of the way just before the oversized arm would have surely decapitated her. Instead, it broke apart just about all of the desks in her row. She scrambled to avoid the shrapnel, crawling on her hands and knees in desperation.

All the while, her mind was working a mile a minute. All of the other students were unconscious thanks to that pill. The teacher wasn't actually a teacher; it was a monster. And now it was hell bent on killing her because she had a moral compass.

"This is my reward for having integrity?" Ami muttered somewhat madly to herself. She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the monster. She screamed again as it prepared to bring its large fist down on her head. She couldn't get out of the way fast enough, but she was now fighting for survival and acting purely on instinct. She grabbed one of the chairs and thrust it in front of her, bracing for impact.

The demon's two ton fist broke the chair apart as if it were nothing more than a ball of ice. Ami flinched as she felt several splinters embed themselves in her face and hands, but it was a small price to pay. The youma was momentarily preoccupied and Ami was able to drag herself to her feet. She bolted for the door in a mad dash for freedom...

And stopped short to avoid running into the monster.

Ami stared at it in alarm and quickly looked over her shoulder. It had actually moved from one place to another as if by magic, effectively blocking her exit. If Ami hadn't been so terrified, she probably would have been fascinated.

The demon snarled at her, the left side of its mouth twisting upwards in a hungry grin. Ami immediately began to back away, the creature advancing with every beat of her frantic heart. She felt herself break out into a cold sweat as she contemplated what to do.

She didn't stand a chance in fighting it... Well, where had that thought come from anyway? Of course she couldn't fight it! She wouldn't know how to go about such a thing. But she also couldn't get out the door. And she very much doubted she'd be able to reason with it.

Ami glanced out the open window. It was an option.

She was about to make the desperate move when suddenly the door was flung open by three unarmed security guards. Well, one of them was carrying a mop, but it wasn't as if that would do much good.

Ami wasn't foolish enough to think she was saved, but perhaps they could distract the youma long enough for her to jump out of the window. She leaned over and glanced out the window. Her heart effectively lodged itself in her throat. She was up seven stories. The fall would likely kill her.

She looked back at the monster and wondered if maybe death was her only escape.

The monster whirled around, bearing its teeth at the unexpected interruptions. It screeched, sounding very much like a dying falcon. The security guards all went deathly pale, unable to handle staring their darkest nightmares in the face. One fainted dead away and the other two ran for their lives, leaving Ami and the mop to fend for themselves.

"Wait!" Ami called after them, sounding quite hysterical. "You can't just leave me here!"

The demon turned back to her, still grinning in a way that made Ami shudder. "It appears they have, pretty miss. More's the pity. I doubt you'll be filling, and I like it when they squirm on the way down."

Ami's stomach dropped the seven stories to the ground.

* * *

"How hard is it to find one damn classroom in this place!" Tuxedo Kamen snarled, passing by a number of closed doors on the seventh floor. Seeing as none of them had been blown out, he sincerely doubted that any of them were Ami's classroom. "I have to find her!" 

"You will!" Luna hissed in his ear, digging her claws into his shoulder as she tried to hold on to him while he was running at this breakneck pace. "She's a Senshi! She can handle herself!"

Tuxedo Kamen growled as he nearly ran right into a wall. He spun in a move that seemed practiced, pushing off it with upper body to give him more momentum. He flew down a new corridor with renewed speed. "But she doesn't know it yet! She wouldn't know what to do even if her powers did manifest!"

"Her instincts will keep her alive," Luna assured him. "Trust me."

Tuxedo Kamen was not convinced.

At that precise moment, two slightly overweight security guards came tearing out of an open door at the other end of the hallway. Tuxedo Kamen was willing to bet odds that neither man had ever run quite that fast before in his life. And judging by the way their faces matched the cheap linoleum, they weren't running to the break room to snag the best jelly filled donut.

Both men stopped short when they caught sight of Tuxedo Kamen racing towards them, his cape billowing out ominously behind him, face set into a look of staunch determination. They exchanged a terrified glance, grew even paler, and then resumed running for their lives to hide in another classroom, screaming their heads off all the while.

Tuxedo Kamen pulled out a rose from nowhere, panting with the effort it took to keep up his speed. "Hang on, Mizuno. Just hang on."

* * *

Ami shrieked again, but this time it was cut off as the monster's normally proportioned hand wrapped around her throat. Ami's eyes bulged as the thing squeezed her neck with bone crushing force, lifting her clear off the ground. Ami kicked her legs feebly and scratched at the monster's leathery hide. She felt layers of dead skin come off in her hands and thick blood smear her fingers, but the creature barely registered the pain. It just kept smiling at her, licking its lips in anticipation. 

And then Ami's forehead felt like it was on fire.

She winced as she felt something burning. But it was a strange sensation... The closest feeling Ami could associate it with was fire, but it was absolutely freezing. She saw a blue light being cast on the demon's twisted face.

"What the--"

A flash of red zipped through the air, stopping once it hit the monster's gargantuan arm. Ami heard what sounded like a knife embedding itself into skin just before the monster let out another horrible cry. It released Ami, dropping her to the ground in favor of clutching her wound. Ami fell on the floor in a heap, gasping and coughing as she tried to make up for the oxygen she lost. Once reassured that she was still breathing, she scrambled to her feet and moved to get as far away from the creature as possible.

It was then that she saw that someone had indeed come to her rescue. Donned in a top hat and a cape, he was positioned perfectly for such an event. One arm was outstretched, and he was making a valiant effort to make the rest of his body appear to be slouching casually.

Ami could instantly tell that he was tensed and ready to fall upon the demon at a moment's notice. He was merely making an effort to appear as if this was a normal activity for him. She followed his gaze to see just what he had thrown and was befuddled at what she saw.

A rose?

While the claw marks on the monster's hand had barely tickled, the youma was now visibly aching from this storybook assault. It clawed at the flower, ripping off a chunk of its arm as opposed to just pulling it out. It oozed green blood and Ami felt sick with the memory of its fangs.

"A juku is a place where students go to learn and better themselves so that they might achieve a superior score on high school entrance exams. They come here to try and get the best future they possibly can. They do not come here--" he paused as he had to step over the body of the fallen security guard, but he picked up right where he left off. "--to fight for their lives or to be attacked by hellish demons. How dare you interrupt these students' studies for a nefarious plot? I, Tuxedo Kamen, will not allow it."

Ami raised an eyebrow. This guy clearly could not work off the cuff.

The creature screeched again, making Tuxedo Kamen wince. "So, you're the one who has already slain two of my brethren?"

He smirked. "That would be me."

"I was warned of you by my master," it continued with a feral snarl. "I was told that my sisters were careless in their plots. After all, how else could a mere amateur stab one in the heart and choke the life out of another from behind? We were bred to kill, Tuxedo Kamen." It grinned back at him. "And as you will see, I am not so weak as my predecessors!"

It swung back its larger hand like a wrecking ball once more, causing Ami to drop to the floor in order to avoid serious injury. She shut her eyes to avoid seeing the unpleasantness, crying out when she heard the creature's arm smash into a wall. Still, the grunt of frustration that followed clearly meant that Tuxedo Kamen had survived. In spite of this, Ami was still not particularly confident in her masked savior.

"Ami!" a female voice hissed from her left. "Ami, open your eyes. Ami! I need to talk to you about what's on your forehead!"

Her eyes flew open at that, her right hand rising to inspect her prickly brow. She shivered when she tried to touch it, quickly drawing her hand away. It felt as if she'd driven her hand into three feet of tightly packed snow.

She glanced around for the voice, but saw no one who could be speaking to her. She did see Tuxedo Kamen break another chair over the creature's back, but she quickly looked away from that. Her gaze dropped down again...

And she came face to face with a very resolute looking feline with a bald spot in the shape of a crescent.

"Luna?" Ami breathed somewhat madly. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, Sailor Mercury," the cat replied lucidly.

In a way that was very uncharacteristic of her, Ami threw herself back and screamed, staring at Luna in terror. She was quivering now, shaking her head. "God, you're another one of those things aren't you? Vicious monsters, talking cats, men in capes... I suppose Sailor V is going to show up any minute!"

Luna's expression was briefly compassionate, but she quickly steeled up once more. "Listen. I don't have time to explain everything to you. You'll just have to trust me when I saw that I'm on your side, Mercury."

"Mercury?" Ami said helplessly, at a complete loss as to why this _talking_ cat had just called her a planet. "What are you talking about?"

Luna opened her mouth to say something more, when they both heard the sound of flesh pounding into flesh. They both turned to see Tuxedo Kamen being punched in the gut painfully. Ami rose to her feet instantly, feeling an overwhelming urge to help him.

Ami blinked and the impulse was replaced by fear. "What am I doing? I can't--"

"You feel it, don't you?" Luna interrupted. "You feel the call to help him. It's who you are, Mercury." She gestured to Ami's forehead with her paw. "You've been marked for this destiny. You are what you were made to be. And now it is time for you to awaken."

The cat then hopped to her feet and did a back flip into the air. Some kind of shimmering substance seemed to follow her as she did so. Then there was a small flash of light, like a light bulb popping. When Ami looked again, she saw a curious looking object lying on the floor. It was blue with a familiar symbol from her astronomy books topping it off.

"Mercury?" Ami whispered, bending down to pick up the pen. She looked over at Luna, feeling as if something was dawning on her. But she still didn't know what. "What is going on?"

"That is your henshin. You are Sailor Mercury," Luna briefed her briskly. "And you have to help Tuxedo Kamen defeat this evil."

Ami stared at the pen in wonder. She felt something when she held it. She could not put it into words, but something felt inexplicably... right.

"Hold it up," Luna continued swiftly. "And say Mercury Power, Make-Up!"

Ami looked back at the dark cat. "What?"

There was another crash, though neither of them dared to see what had happened.

Luna's voice sounded almost frantic as she shouted. "Do it now!"

Ami had never been particularly good at disobeying an imperative statement spoken in a forceful tone. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was holding the mysterious pen over her head. She felt her forehead burn with more intensity. Ami was certain now that there was only one way to alleviate the pain.

"MERCURY POWER, MAKE-UP!"

* * *

Things were not going all that well for Tuxedo Kamen. He didn't want to wager how much collateral damage he and the youma had caused in the past few minutes. Nor did he want to guess just how much damage the monster had done to him. He was slowing down considerably after the rib shattering punch to the gut, and the youma had barely broken a sweat. Every once in a while, what could only be described as a great yellow blob of light would fly from its shorter hand. One blast had clipped him on the arm, and it was still burning. 

The creature drew its hand back again, light gathering around its palm. Tuxedo Kamen bent his knees, preparing to dive out of the way again. The youma released its attack and he flew. Unfortunately, he didn't count on tripping over the body of a slightly more rotund student. That kept him from getting much distance.

As a result, the attack hit him square in the chest. He cried out and was thrown back into the wall. He smashed into it, cracking the plaster and knocking all of the adornments off. He grimaced painfully as he slowly slid down, hitting the ground with a thud.

Tuxedo Kamen groaned weakly, forcing himself to look up at the youma as it lumbered towards him. It looked as if it had already won, grinning down victoriously at him. He would have cringed if it wouldn't have been so painful.

"And to think," the youma cooed as it drew its hand back to deliver the finishing strike. "I was almost worried you were going to be a challenge." Its face screwed up violently and it screeched again, shaking the remaining glass left in the windowpanes.

Tuxedo Kamen clamped his eyes shut and waited for his life to flash before his eyes. He felt embittered disappointment when his memories began with him burying his face into a white doctor's coat, screaming for his mother.

"MERCURY POWER, MAKE-UP!"

The words made both man and beast jolt, each turning to where they had last seen Mizuno Ami. Tuxedo Kamen watched in awe as Ami was enveloped in cool blue light. She seemed to dance amongst glowing rivers and shimmering snowflakes, the water elements caressing her skin and forming ribbons that clothed her. There was yet another flash of light, and suddenly she was dressed in a strangely familiar imitation of a school girl uniform. It was all variations of blue and white, with knee high boots adorning her feet and a tiara upon her brow. She spun around and ended in what seemed to be a rehearsed pose, short skirt billowing in the breeze.

Tuxedo Kamen cast a quick, appreciative glance at her legs. Normally he wouldn't have, but if he was about to die, he may as well enjoy the view.

"For love and justice," Sailor Mercury said, striking yet another series of poses straight out of Sailor V. "I am the soldier of wisdom, Sailor Mercury! And in the name of Mercury, I order you to douse yourself in water and repent!"

Had Tuxedo Kamen not been well past this stage in his life, he would have pouted. She **must** have rehearsed that bit in front of a mirror.

The youma screeched and turned on Mercury, swinging its clubbed arm back to flatten her. In spite of these instincts Luna had assured him of, the girl warrior froze in place, clearly overwhelmed by everything that was happening to her.

Tuxedo Kamen saw no other choice. He steeled his mind and flung himself to his feet, leaping over the demon's head. He landed in front of Mercury and threw his hands up in front of his face. Luna screamed at him to move and Mercury to help, but neither party listened.

Just before the monster would have made mincemeat of his chiseled visage, a cane appeared seemingly out of nowhere, flying into his hands. He didn't bother to question it and just thanked heaven for its presence. He tightened his grip on the instrument and used it to block the monster's blows. It proved quite useful as the youma was now so frustrated that it didn't change tactics and just kept hammering away at the cane.

He looked over his shoulder briefly and caught sight of Sailor Mercury. She was staring at her costume in complete bewilderment, looking every bit a lost little girl in desperate need of a parent's embrace. He looked away, knowing the feeling all too well.

"Attack it!" he bellowed straining against the last hit. He wasn't sure how the cane was able to withstand the assault, but then some things were best left unanalyzed.

Mercury looked up at him, somewhat unsure of whom he was addressing. "Me?"

Tuxedo Kamen grunted and dodged another punch. "Well, we can't very well expect Luna to be particularly useful in this situation, can we?"

Although Luna was quite resentful, Mercury supposed he was correct. She looked around frenetically, looking for something to use as a weapon. Finding that anything useable had been already trampled or obliterated, she turned back to him and shouted, "What do I do?"

Tuxedo Kamen gracefully avoided stepping on two unconscious children and blocked yet another swipe. This time the creature leaned into his cane, hoping to make it snap under its weight. He pushed back up with all his might, amazed that the cane managed to hold up. He ground his teeth. "It just always comes. Just... focus or some--"

The last was cut off as the youma finally decided to change tactics. It grasped the cane with its smaller hand and flung it upwards, dragging Tuxedo Kamen along with it. He was tossed into the air, flipping end over end until he came to a dead stop in the other wall.

Things were most definitely not going at all well for Tuxedo Kamen.

"No!" Mercury cried as Tuxedo Kamen was tossed casually aside, landing upside down before crumpling to the floor. She almost ran over to help him, when she saw the youma turn to her. Apparently it assumed that Tuxedo Kamen would not be getting up for a good, long time. Therefore, it would serve itself best by taking out the healthy competition.

Mercury glanced over at the prone form of her supposed savior. She gulped when she realized that the monster's assumptions were probably spot on.

The reluctant warrior turned back to face her challenger, trying very hard not to show fear in the face of such peril. She doubted that she was doing even a halfway decent job of it.

_'Attack it,'_ he'd told her. _'It's just always comes. Just... focus.'_

She wished that he'd been more specific on just what she was supposed to focus on.

But in light of that advice, vague though it had been, Mercury did the only thing she could possibly think of. She concentrated on finding some semblance of power. After all, it stood to reason that she had some given the miraculous costume change. It had to be there. Hidden somewhere deep within her was some sort of way to attack this thing. Her life and his depended on whether or not she found it in time.

"Good bye, Sailor Mercury," the youma said casually.

And suddenly, Mercury knew.

She thrust her hands forward in a manner that she had never before done even though it felt as natural as swimming. Ice cold power gathered at her fingertips, saturating her gloves. She spun around, crossing her arms in front of her face. Then she flung them out with a cry so familiar and so foreign that it gave her chills.

"SHABON SPRAY!"

Of all things to be utilized in an attack, bubble raced for the youma, taking both of them by surprise. It actually flinched, anticipating something that Mercury couldn't hope to hypothesize. However, the attack never truly hit home. Instead, a cold fog filled the room, making it impossible for either Mercury or the demon to see three feet in front of them.

"What's this!" it screeched. "A diversionary tactic! I'll get you, you little--"

It struck out at the air again, displacing the fog enough so that Mercury was able to guess at where it was. She jumped back, nimbly avoiding the bodies that littered the floor. She continued to dodge the creature until it turned in the opposite direction and mistakenly pursued her that way. After awhile, she bumped into another warm, solid form. She jumped when he reached out to steady her and whispered in her ear.

"Stay here. I got this."

Mercury stared out at nothing as she felt a cape whisk past her, watching as the thick fog slowly began to clear. A high whistle penetrated the air, halting the demon's furious movements.

"Hey, Ugly! I'm over here! Don't you know how to finish what you start?"

The creature let loose yet another unholy cry as Mercury was finally able to see the forms of the two fighters. The monster lunged forward with a great leap, flying at Tuxedo Kamen with outstretched arms. On the other hand, Tuxedo Kamen looked quite calm. Both Sailor Mercury and Luna frantically cried out for him to move as the demon brought its hand back, prepared to fling another attack at him.

Then at the last possible moment, Tuxedo Kamen bent his knees. He leapt upwards, almost soaring over the thing's head. He hovered in the air just above the creature's head as it continued to rocket forward...

Right out the open window.

The youma continued to screech as it fell, twisting in the air as gravity slowly took hold. Tuxedo Kamen solemnly dropped to his feet, deliberately not looking out the window. Sailor Mercury rushed forward, just barely stopping herself from resting her hands on jagged shards of glass.

She watched as the monster fell from seven stories, its arms stretching up to them. It yelled what might have been some demonic curse on them both as the ground rose up to meet it. Mercury never took her eyes off it, even as it smashed its head on the pavement below, blood and brains splattering against the gray cement.

Just seconds later, what had been left of the corpse turned to dust and carried off by a sudden breeze.

Inside the classroom, the briefcase on the teacher's desk shuddered violently. Tuxedo Kamen and Luna watched as it exploded in array of shimmering sand, covering the one thing in the room that had been left almost entirely intact.

Sailor Mercury looked out the window in horror. There had been a body. Something had died, malicious as it was. And as gruesome as the death itself had been, there was now no corpse left behind. It had vanished. Any trace of its existence save their battle scars and the destroyed classroom had disappeared entirely.

She shook violently as her mind went blank.

A hand fell upon her shoulder, obviously meant to be a gesture of comfort. She neither jumped nor whirled to face him. All she did was stare at that spot on the sidewalk that had been stained with inhuman blood just seconds before.

"Listen," Tuxedo Kamen began quietly. "Mercury... I know that this is--"

He never got to finish as she blacked out, collapsing into his arms.

* * *

Tuxedo Kamen stared at the girl he was now holding. Her transformation had melted away as she fell, and now she was Mizuno Ami once more. Not that she would ever be the same. 

He heard a quiet moan at his feet. He looked down and saw that the other students were beginning to stir. It wouldn't do for him to be caught in so suspicious a position, so he quickly laid Ami down on the ground, assuming that the others would think that she'd been caught up in the attack and not question her position. He then scooped Luna up in his arms and dashed into the hallway.

"Well, that could have gone better," he wheezed, pausing just outside the door.

"Are you all right?" Luna asked, her eyes wide with worry.

He coughed. "I'm just this side of comatose, thanks for asking." Tuxedo Kamen stopped for a moment, narrowing his eyes beneath his domino mask. "That thing was strong, Luna. Stronger than the other ones."

"They're testing you," Luna explained patiently. "They're seeing just how much you can withstand."

Tuxedo Kamen felt his heart clench in fear. "That thing almost had me. If it hadn't been for Mizuno-- Sailor Mercury, and a lot of luck... I'd be dead."

Luna frowned slightly. "I don't suppose you're part Irish."

Tuxedo Kamen was about to react when he suddenly heard what sounded like a veritable stampede headed his way. He momentarily panicked, wondering if his mysterious enemy had sent reinforcements.

He wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved when he saw a cavalry comprised of the two security guards, a number of armed police officers, and several overzealous members of the press. Flashbulbs immediately went off before one of the guards even had a chance to point at him like he'd just been found guilt of murdering his grandmother. "That's him! That's the man I saw!"

Luna's hair stood on end. "Might I suggest you run?"

Tuxedo Kamen glanced around for another corridor, but it appeared that he was at a dead end. It seemed the only opportunity for escape was a full length glass window at the end of the hall.

He grinned mirthlessly. "What's another broken window, eh, Luna?"

* * *

Ami spent much of the next day at school jumping at just about every shadow that moved. There was one particularly upsetting incident in which her teacher had suddenly called on her and Ami had actually yelped. Naturally, this amused her classmates to no end and for the rest of the day it seemed as if the entire world was having one long chuckle at her expense. 

But that was the last thing Ami was concerned about. No, her thoughts rested only in the events of the previous day. She had at first looked at it objectively and tried to reason an answer. That hadn't worked. At the moment, she was trying abject terror towards every living and nonliving thing she encountered. That wasn't much of an improvement, but it was hardly the point.

How could Ami look at what happened the day before objectively? How could she reason with the fact that a monster had very nearly killed her? And what was the scientific explanation for the sudden fog that had come upon them - a fog that she could have sworn she summoned?

She tried to brush that thought aside. This wasn't some sort of shoujo anime. This was real life. And in real life, monsters didn't look any different from anyone else and that made them that much more dangerous. And there certainly weren't any short-skirted heroines or masked men to fly in and save the day.

A boy from a lower grade rushed past her, brushing her skirt as went by. Ami managed to choke back her cry this time, but she couldn't help but jump. She clenched her fist and looked briefly alarmed.

Then she heard several snickers from behind her. Her fist tightened, but she did nothing else.

Ami walked away, her gaze lowered. After a few moments, she unclenched her hand and gently massaged her temple. She didn't know how this day could possibly get any worse...

Suddenly, Ami heard an engine rev close by. It was quite loud and almost had a character behind it, but Ami quickly discounted that, never having been one to wax poetic. She followed the gaze of the crowd. Awed gasps and appreciative whispers went up among the students as a rather svelte looking man on a motorcycle tore around the corner at a rapid pace. Seeing no reason to continue staring, Ami turned to go...

When the motorcycle came to a sudden stop just beside her.

Fearful once more, Ami backed away, her eyes widening. The man on the motorcycle held up his hand as if to assure her that he meant no harm. He then pushed the visor of his helmet up, revealing him to be the man she'd run into on Tuesday. The cat owner that Usagi wasn't fond of.

"Chiba-san?" Ami asked.

"Get on," he said rather brusquely.

Ami was now very unsure of whether or not she should blush furiously or run away to avoid being accosted.

She stuttered for a moment, at a complete loss for the appropriate response to this situation. She couldn't just go with him. There was already gossip going up around her. Not to mention there was the fact that she'd barely said more than two words to him. Just what did he want with her anyway?

It was then that Ami saw that something appeared to be moving on his neck. She glanced over and realized with a sinking heart that it was that strange cat again. Luna. The one who had talked to her the day before.

'So, he's the man in the mask,' Ami deduced, her inner voice sounding surprisingly calm given how panicked she was. 'I suppose I should have figured that out some time ago. Funny, he looks all right. Then again, I woke up this morning with minimal injury. I should probably try and say something right about now.'

"Umm..."

All at once, a flash of gold appeared before Ami, the vision so blurry that she couldn't discern just what it was. It wasn't until the apparition spoke up that Ami realized that Tsukino Usagi was attempting to come to her rescue.

"You're here again!" she shouted incredulously, attracting the remaining attention of everyone within a five mile radius. "Didn't I chase you away on Tuesday?"

Mamoru looked as if he very much wanted to run Usagi over with his bike.

"And now you're attempting to lure some other poor, unsuspecting, helpless girl to your lair, no doubt." Usagi grabbed Ami protectively, pushing her away from Mamoru in the process. She posed dramatically and cried, "I shall not rest until every young girl is safe from your clutches, Chiba Mamoru! You think just because you have a cute cat that you can whisk girls off into the sunset and have your way with whoever you please? Well... It doesn't!"

Mamoru just looked her.

Usagi nodded emphatically, thumping her chest proudly. "No. No, it doesn't."

Mamoru shook his head and muttered something that neither of them could hear. Ami noticed that Luna seemed to nod in response. Usagi did not.

He sighed slightly and said, "I can't force you to come along, Ami. That's up to you."

Ami breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"But you seem like the type who needs answers."

She looked up at that, her eyes somewhat wide. He was smiling at her, his expression gentle. He was making it plain to her that he understood what she was going through. Then again, if he had seen demons before, how could he not?

And he seemed to know something about her already. He must have known she was an academic, always on a focused searched for the truth. Every question had an answer. Every problem had a solution. And she needed to unravel every mystery she possibly could.

Ami took a deep breath, calling upon every courageous bone in her body to give her the nerve to do what she was about to do. She stepped away from Usagi, taking the still babbling girl off-guard. Ami looked between the two for a moment, wondering if she was making the right decision.

But then what would Frost think of her if she didn't wonder about the path not taken?

She nodded slightly, reaching out and taking the extra helmet Mamoru offered her. Ami crammed it on quickly in a futile attempt to at least muffle the twittering that went up when she did so. She climbed on, adjusting her things with Mamoru's assistance. Once she was secure, she turned and saw Usagi standing on the sidewalk. Ami briefly wondered if it was actually possible for the jaw bone to open quite that much. She waved rather feebly at the blonde and was then forced to hang on for dear life as Mamoru sped away.

Usagi stared after them in silence for a moment before taking off down the street, screaming, "Ami! I know his cat's cute, but you must resist it! He's not a nice person, Ami! Ami! RESIST!"

They were quickly out of her sight and out of ear shot, so Usagi was forced to quiet down. Still, she stared after them for a few moments, ignoring the stares and whispers of her classmates. Finally, she turned on her heel and stalked down the street in the opposite direction, feeling the need to say only one word in response to that ordeal.

"Ecchi."

* * *

"And that's the whole of it," Luna finished, looking rather breathless after her incredibly lengthy explanation. 

Ami found she could do nothing but stare at the feline for a few moments. She was still having some trouble reconciling herself with the fact that a cat could talk. Now said cat had just thrown so much information at Ami that her head hurt. That was something that had never happened before.

Then again this entire week had been something of an anomaly, hadn't it?

The quietly terrified girl turned away from Mamoru and Luna, folding her arms across her chest. She looked out over the serene atmosphere of the park that she had been brought to, paying particular attention to the unruffled surface of the lake.

She had always felt some unexplainable connection with the water. For years she had just assumed that it was because her father had taught her how to swim, and she did not see him often. It was a special memory between the two of them. It didn't matter if the water seemed to caress her. It did not matter if she was always aware of its presence. It did not matter than the sound of water running through the pipes of her house could soothe her more than her mother's gentle words. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

But now these people were telling her that she was not just Mizuno Ami. She was Sailor Mercury, master of water and ice. They were telling her that every mildly unusual incident from childhood was not mere happenstance, but a testament to her power. They were telling her that hell had just opened up and she was supposed to aid them in sealing it up again.

Ami's eyes fluttered closed for a moment and then flew open again. She pursed her lips when she saw that she was still staring at the lake.

"It feels like some horrible dream, doesn't it?"

Ami turned, somewhat startled by his presence. Apparently, he had been standing next to her for some time. She must have been too lost in thought to detect his presence. Not that she'd ever been good at such things to begin with.

After a moment, she nodded by way of response and turned to look back at the lake.

Mamoru must have been waiting for something more for he didn't speak again for a few minutes. When it became plain that she wasn't going to say anything more without further prodding, he added, "I had hoped for the same thing when I got dragged into this. I pinched myself every chance I got." He rolled up his sleeve to demonstrate, holding it in front of her. "See?"

Ami glanced down as she was instructed. She felt somewhat unsettled by the sight of the tiny bruises running up and down his arm. Some looked fresher than others. "You still do it, don't you?"

He looked momentarily surprised at her assessment but then nodded, seeing no reason to lie. Although, he noted that now she seemed somewhat flustered that she'd even brought it up. "The shock has mostly worn off. But not completely."

Ami shook her head, resting her forehead in her hand. "No. This can't be real. It... It doesn't make any sense! Not just the demons but... Me! Of all people to entrust this with!"

Mamoru laughed ruefully. "I know the feeling."

"I have a hard enough time confronting normal human beings," Ami ranted quietly. "How am I supposed to fight those... Those things?"

"Well, as you saw, it requires quite a bit of dodging, guesswork, and luck," Mamoru offered. Judging by the various shades of grey Ami quickly turned, he ventured that his word choice hadn't been the best. "But I imagine it'll be easier if you're not alone."

Ami looked over at Mamoru. She was extremely dubious as to his suggestion. After a moment, she shook her head and whispered, "I don't think I can do this."

Mamoru saw Luna stand up, opening her mouth to speak. He knew that she would no doubt launch into some speech about destiny and birthright and responsibility or some other rubbish. She would gladly force Ami into this fate in order to save the world and the princess.

Mamoru had other plans.

"All right," he said, effectively cutting Luna off. "I understand if you don't want to do this."

Ami didn't quite gawk at him, but that was the closest word Mamoru could associate with how she was looking at him. "You do?"

"Yes," he said simply, once again silencing Luna before she had a chance to speak up.

Now Ami looked completely confused. "But... You said that I was chosen. That I'm Sailor Mercury, and no one else can be. I mean, I do think that someone made a gross error in judgment in that department, but--"

"Well, let's see," Mamoru offered. He looked at her levelly and said, "Do you have it?"

Unsurprisingly, Ami didn't have to ask what he was talking about. She didn't move at first, but then she reached into a hidden pocket in her skirt and pulled the aforementioned 'it' out. She held it up to the light. It glittered almost unnaturally, as if it was not just reflecting the sunrays but radiating starlit sparkles from within. No one there doubted that it was.

"My henshin," Ami whispered softly. "That's what Luna called it, right?"

"Yes," Mamoru answered her in just as quiet a voice. "Now, I want you to be absolutely honest with me... When you look at that henshin, at that symbol... Do you feel anything?"

Ami nodded without hesitation. "I feel... I feel strange. Like even though everything around me is coming undone... I finally fit."

Mamoru took a deep breath and laid his hands on her shoulders. He grinned wryly as Ami's face turned colors once again, but did not bring attention to it. He did his best to soften his gaze and said, "You are Sailor Mercury, whether you like it or not. And it's true that you are destined to save this world and to protect the Moon Princess with your life...

"But that doesn't mean you can't ignore destiny." He heard Luna cough behind him, probably choking on the very suggestion. "You can walk away from this. You can hand me that henshin, leave this park, and forget any of this ever happened."

Ami shook her head sadly. "I could never forget this."

Mamoru considered that for a moment. "No, I don't suppose you could. But you could ignore it. You can go back to your life as a normal, every day top student forced to deal with Odango on an every day basis."

She smiled, finding that much at least mildly amusing.

"I'm not going to force you to do this," Mamoru concluded. "The choice is up to you."

Luna was obviously appalled by his methodology, but she said nothing to the contrary. However, she swore that no matter what Ami's decision, Mamoru was going to catch hell for this when it was all over.

For her part, Ami once again fell into silence, staring at the henshin that she clutched in her hands. She spun it around in her agile, inkstained fingers. She felt almost entranced by it and the symbol that had branded her what she was. She was dictated by destiny to be Sailor Mercury...

But Mamoru said that she could walk away.

"You didn't have a choice," Ami remarked.

Mamoru shook his head. "No. I didn't."

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed as if she were studying a newly discovered species of animal. "But you're giving me one. You'd go back to fighting by yourself even though it would be harder."

"That's right."

Ami frowned. "That's not practical."

Mamoru shrugged. "Kindness often isn't."

Ami stared at him for a few more moments, still mulling over the decision in her mind. At long last, her shoulders sagged in defeat. "All right. I'll do it."

Mamoru grinned both at her acceptance and at Luna's exaggerated sigh of relief from behind him. "You made the right decision."

Ami still looked skeptical.

Feeling the need to do something to cement their alliance, Mamoru stepped away from Ami. He stuck his hand out in a very western manner. Ami was only momentarily confused before recognizing the gesture. She reached out with tentatively and took it, her hand being swallowed up in his.

"Welcome to the team, Sailor Mercury."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Yumeko is my saviour for agreeing to beta this incredibly massive project. I'm eternally grateful for how much help she's given me already, and I know that it only gets better from here on in.

And for those of you confused about Ami being in another class, I did watch the first season very recently. In it, Ami was actually not in Ms. Haruna's class at the beginning of the season. Towards the end of the Nephrite arc, the girls went on summer vacation. When they got back, Ami and Usagi were suddenly in the same class. Which, I don't think is actually possible in the Japanese school system... But I'm not going to complain.

Coming Soon - Part Four: On Target


	4. On Target

Hands Fall Together  
Part Four: On Target  
4/27  
by Kihin Ranno

"I'm dead."

Though Nephrite found it difficult, he managed to hold back the sigh that threatened to fall from his lips. He watched as Jadeite downed another shot of absinthe, holding out his glass for a refill. Nephrite obliged, saying, "Jadeite, you're still talking to me. Therefore, I think it is rather premature to speak in anything other than the future tense." Nephrite watched as Jadeite tore his hand through his hair; he was clearly growing more frustrated by the second. "Besides, you don't know that she's going to kill you."

Jadeite snorted ruefully, shaking his head. "You always were fickle. You were just saying the other day that I was... How did you put it? Setting myself up for my own doom or some such?" He took another gulp of the alcohol, finding comfort in the fact that he could still feel it burn his throat. "Face it. I'm as good as dead for my failure. Just promise you won't cremate me."

Nephrite frowned, glaring down at his own untouched glass of brandy. It was true. Beryl had flown into a rage when she heard of Jadeite's latest failure. She had been ready to strike the man dead without so much as a second thought. It was only thanks to Kunzite's insistence that they speak in private that saved him.

Or at least delayed his fate.

He had full confidence in Kunzite, of course. But just earlier that week they had discussed that Kunzite only had so much sway when it came to Beryl. There would eventually come a day when she would no longer hear him and kill Jadeite for his mistakes.

They could only wait and pray that the day had not come.

"You don't know that," Nephrite said finally.

Jadeite laughed miserably, sounding somewhat hysterical. "Don't patronize me, Nephrite. You were there. You saw her. She wants me dead. And her majesty always gets what she wants."

Jadeite's words were teetering on the razor's edge of treason in the Dark Kingdom. Nephrite slammed his drink down on the table he sat at, disrupting Jadeite's pacing about his chambers. He glared at the terrified Shitennou and hissed, "Jadeite, if you don't want to cement your fate as Beryl's throw rug, I suggest you watch what you say. Beryl has eyes and ears everywhere. You know that."

His companion paled even more, running a hand down his face. It was slick to the touch, covered by a thin sheen of sweat. He would have unbuttoned his jacket a little to allow some ventilation had he not been so cold. After a minute, Jadeite nodded and resumed pacing in silence, taking another shaking sip from his drink. Seeing it empty, Nephrite got to his feet and refilled it without a second thought.

"Thank you," Jadeite muttered out of habit.

Nephrite didn't respond with anything more than a nod. After all, manners weren't exactly expected or appreciated in the Dark Kingdom.

"Oh, how cute," an annoying high pitched voice sang out. "The little Dark King looks as if he's about to soil himself." The speaker laughed at his own joke, the noise sounding hideous as it echoed off the cavernous walls. He appeared in a torrent of cherry blossoms, legs crossed demurely. "Why, Jadeite. You look absolutely petrified! What ever is the matter?"

Nephrite glared at his inferior, wishing for what must have been the eight hundredth time that Kunzite hadn't developed such a fondness for the little ponce. "You know what's wrong, Zoisite."

Zoisite acted as if he was trying to remember what Nephrite was referring to, snapping his fingers as the false revelation came upon him. "Oh, right! Yes, now I remember! Jadeite's upset because his head's on the chopping block! How could I have forgotten?" He snickered, a clear indication that he was about to break out into the cackle once again. "The look on your face when she... Oh! Oh! I can hardly stand it!" Zoisite clutched his sides as he fell into yet another laughing fit, finding jadeite's impending doom the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

Jadeite slammed his glass of absinthe onto his end table and turned on the Dark King. He glared up at Zoisite, teeth bared and snarled, "Listen to me, you little--"

"Hup bup bup," Zoisite cautioned, holding out a hand to stop Jadeite's advances. "I wouldn't advise that. Because I'm not sure if you two realized it, but I just happen to be--"

"Giving our esteemed leader mind numbing orgasms every night?" Nephrite offered snidely. "We were aware. But thanks for the bulletin."

Zoisite turned a very light shade of pink. "Don't make it sound dirty!"

Nephrite regarded him incredulously. "You don't actually expect us to believe that this is something other than a ploy for possible advancement and ensuring that Jadeite and I can't do this kingdom a great service in killing you, do you?"

Zoisite merely gaped at him, beyond outraged.

"Dear God, he does," Nephrite drawled, walking back to where he had set his glass and taking another sip of brandy.

Jadeite continued glaring at Zoisite for a moment before shaking his head. "Kunzite deserves so much better."

Zoisite then proceeded to choke and gesture about wildly. His comrades decided that this would surely keep him occupied for some time and returned to their conversation.

"Where is he?" Jadeite raged. "He should have been back by now!"

"No news is good news," Nephrite quoted.

Jadeite didn't look particularly impressed. In fact, he threw his hands up into the air and said, "I'm doomed!"

"One can only hope," Zoisite hissed.

Jadeite whirled on him again, looking as if absolutely nothing would stop him from leaping up and ringing Zoisite's neck. Least of all Nephrite, who was already trying to come up with a good excuse to tell Kunzite. Just when he had decided to blame it on some obligatory youma or another, the leader of the Shitennou appeared.

Zoisite immediately flew to his side, clinging to him with wide eyes. "Kunzite! You're back! So, is Jadeite spared or should I ready the crematorium?"

Jadeite winced.

Kunzite regarded his lover strangely for a moment before turning back to Jadeite. He looked at him gravely for a moment before the left corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. With that slight expression, Jadeite's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Oh, thank God," Jadeite wheezed, reaching over and downing the rest of his drink.

Zoisite blinked, clearly having missed the communiqué. "What? You mean he lives?"

Kunzite nodded levelly. "It took a lot of maneuvering and half a bottle of merlot, but I managed it."

"Damn it," Zoisite muttered to himself, his face darkening in rage.

"What was that?" Nephrite snapped.

"I said I'm glad!" Zoisite insisted, a painfully wide smile stretching across his delicate features. "Really, Jadeite. I am... so happy that she's given you another chance."

Kunzite frowned slightly. "There's just one stipulation."

Jadeite halted in getting another celebratory refill. He flinched at the news, but then nodded slightly. "I suppose I should have expected that. What should I do? Cut off my right hand?"

"That's all too simple," Kunzite said gravely. "On your next energy collecting mission... She's ordered that you kill this Tuxedo Kamen. And Sailor Mercury."

Even Zoisite seemed pained by the news. While none of them had been able to take Tuxedo Kamen all that seriously, they had to admit that killing him alone would surely be a chore. But with the appearance of Sailor Mercury, Jadeite's problems had increased tenfold.

A Senshi, however novice, was notoriously difficult to defeat. Kunzite, who remembered the most out of the four of their past life, had once told them that the four Guardian Senshi had defended the palace virtually on their own, dragging out the final battle for days. Their power was legendary. Their magic lethal. Their resolve unshakeable.

It had already taken them a year just to get rid of the rogue warrior, Sailor V. To that hour, her former existence was still an oddity that they could not reconcile themselves with. There was still some concern about her. After all, they never did find a body.

"Kill a Senshi?" Jadeite asked in a dull voice. "And I only get one shot?"

Kunzite nodded gravely.

Nephrite laid a strong hand on Jadeite's shoulder. It was a rather odd thing to do as neither of them were particularly demonstrative, but Nephrite was willing to forgo their usual inhibitions for the moment. Jadeite didn't appear to mind until Nephrite's grip tightened like a vice thanks to Zoisite's rather euphoric state after hearing Kunzite's news.

Jadeite sighed and said, "All right then. If that's what I must do to survive, then that's what I'll do." His anxious face quickly twisted into one of rage, his grasp on his glass tightening so that it threatened to break. "And it isn't like I'll hate doing it."

"Do you have a plan?" Nephrite asked. "Because if you don't, may I once again suggest that--"

"Yes, yes. That I attack one person at a time. I heard you the first time," he snapped. Still, Jadeite mulled over the actual query for a minute before suddenly letting out a harsh bark of laughter.

He turned to the other three, his eyes alight with what some might call madness. His lips twisted into a sneer. "Oh, I have a plan all right. What is that they say, gentlemen? If you can't do something right, you've got to do it yourself."

-----

Mamoru was sitting at his computer, fingers flying across the keyboard in an all but desperate attempt to catch up on his studies when he heard a knock at the door. He turned to the sound, feeling intense vexation for the interruption but recognizing the necessity for it. The fate of humanity was only slightly more important than his education after all. And so, it was with a woebegone sigh that Mamoru saved his document under the title "I Hate My Night Job.doc" and rose to answer the door.

Luna was sitting in front of it, glaring up at the knob with great contempt and loathing that it was too high for her to reach. Her whiskers twitched as she sensed his approach. "Took you long enough."

Mamoru had recently decided that it was better to ignore Luna when she was in one of her moods. Therefore, he bent down and patted her head, saying, "You'd better move or she might step on you. Every time I see her, she's got a book in her hand."

Luna wanted to make some sort of remark to that, but she thought better of it. Instead, she obliged, trotting away from the door as Mamoru undid the locks. Just days earlier, he'd rarely ever bothered with anything other than the actual lock and key. Now he not only undid that but the deadbolt and chain as well.

He swung open the door and was unsurprised to find Mizuno Ami standing there, reading yet again. Only this time, her nose was buried in the newspaper he had not taken into his apartment that day. She was frowning, though she was not so much annoyed as she was consumed with ruminating. Mamoru glanced at the picture of the front page and took the paper out of her hands, startling her.

"I do look rather dashing, don't you think?" he remarked glibly. He didn't wait for her response, rather doubting he'd get one. "Come on in."

She did as he bade, though with some reluctance that he remained entirely oblivious to. Luna took notice of it and realized that she should have foreseen it, but did not entertain the notion of moving to another location. After all, this was really the safest place they could meet, Ami's reservations aside. Luna also noticed that she'd changed out of her uniform and wondered if perhaps she was embarrassed about her youth.

Luna decided that there was probably very little Ami wasn't embarrassed about at one time or another and banished those thoughts from her brain.

Mamoru shut the door behind Ami, chewing on the inside of his mouth. He was still studying the photograph on the front page with mock intensity. The corner of his chapped lips twitched as he fought back a smirk, his gaze briefly flitting to the cat who was hopping up onto the couch in the living area. "You know, they say the camera adds ten pounds... I think I might have to switch you to the low calorie food, Luna."

Luna squawked. The sound was quite funny given that it was usually her prey that made such noise.

Ami unsuccessfully suppressed a giggle, instantly feeling more at ease.

"I will have you know," Luna bristled, her tail fluffing out comically, "that I am in perfect physical condition. I was merely in a rather unfortunate position. Nothing more."

Mamoru shrugged. "Even so, the kitty with the crescent moon bald spot should be more aware of her presentation."

Luna turned to him with a look of furious betrayal, unsheathing her claws. "Do not be aggravating! Just because that Tsukino girl has absolutely no manners does not mean that you--"

"Oh, but I don't think that's why he's saying that," Ami said, her boldness surprising the cat. "That's what they call you in the article."

If it would have been possible, Luna's fur would have turned crimson with rage.

Mamoru set the paper aside. Their recent publicity was the least of their worries. "Let's get started before Luna gives herself an aneurysm. Would you like anything?"

Ami smiled softly and declined, her posture relaxing considerably from what it had been when she first walked in. She sat down on the couch next to Luna, reaching over to scratch her ears sympathetically. Luna forgave her for any offense, purring away happily. Mamoru sat down in a chair across from Ami. Luna spared him a withering glance before getting down to business.

"There is much to discuss, as I'm sure both of you realize," Luna began, her voice already grave. "I think the first thing we need to discuss is that I should hope it is obvious to both of you that we cannot allow the skirmishes to continue on as such."

"Skirmishes?" Mamoru remarked, eyebrow arched. "Is that really an appropriate term for fighting for one's life?"

"What I've seen hardly qualifies as fighting," Luna chastised, holding him responsible for the near fatal results of the battles. "You are one very lucky soul, Mamoru. You should have died at least nine times by now."

"Good thing I'm not a cat," Mamoru observed, his tone good natured.

Luna made no remark about the superstition. "I'm serious, Mamoru. I honestly have no idea how you've managed to survive these fights. No offense intended, but you have very little by way of magical ability. You find gravity to be optional, you can throw roses, and now it seems that you have a cane, Serenity be praised."

Mamoru nodded in agreement. Without that, he would have surely been cold at that very moment. "And don't forget, I seem to sense these attacks when they happen. Although, I didn't have a migraine last time, which I find odd."

Ami pursed her lips, considering that. Eventually, she voiced what she thought might have been a plausible answer. "Because I was there? Perhaps it wasn't perceived as urgent with my presence."

"That's a possibility," Mamoru said after a moment's consideration. "A good one. Maybe with you around I'll no longer be subjected to debilitating pain and just a bit of nausea."

"We're off subject," Luna chided. "I believe we need to formulate a better strategy. Both of your abilities are limited, and it is necessary that we come up with a plan of attack. Or at the very least make both of you stronger until we find the next Senshi or the princess."

"What do you propose?" Ami asked, her voice quiet.

"We need to begin training: honing your skills, testing the limits of your power, etcetera," Luna answered plainly.

Mamoru had expected as much, but Ami seemed slightly taken aback. She regarded Luna incredulously. "But we don't have any place to go. Tokyo isn't exactly filled with wide open spaces closed to the general public."

Luna nodded, conceding the point. "That's why I was quite pleased when I found this."

She hopped off the couch and landed on the coffee table. She pawed at a slip of paper that Mamoru hadn't noticed before. He reached down and felt a thin layer of sand, most likely from Luna's litter box. He blew on it discreetly and then studied the ad. He blinked and turned to look at his guardian of sorts with some amount of disbelief. "Kyudo? Archery lessons?"

"They only offer them once a month at the culture center. It's tomorrow." Luna craned her neck to glance at Ami, who was mildly taken aback by Luna's suggestion. "You don't have school tomorrow, do you?"

Ami shook her head. "I was planning on memorizing a few English vocabulary words and looking ahead in my math and science courses, but if it doesn't go too late--"

"Good," Luna all but chirped, smiling. "I already called and signed both of you up for tomorrow."

Mamoru narrowed his eyes, looking over at his telephone. "That explains the cat hair."

Luna didn't comment. "I can see that you both are reluctant about this, and I can understand why. This doesn't directly fall in line with either of your abilities. However, I assure you this definitely has its place in your training. It will improve your aim, discipline, and concentration. All of these things are vital on a battle field."

Mamoru smiled somewhat smugly. "My aim is perfectly fine, thank you."

Luna smirked, clearly reveling in her response. "Actually, you drift to the left."

Mamoru looked offended, though he didn't feel it for long when he heard Ami once again try not to laugh. It was a great relief that she was no longer feeling so ill at ease, though she still wasn't completely comfortable with any of this. He would probably be terrified of her if she ever did grow complacent.

"You'll both be at the address at ten tomorrow morning," Luna instructed, leaving no room for argument. "I will accompany you to remain apprised of your progress,  
of course.

"Now, on to other matters." Luna turned to face Ami, tilting her head to the side as if she was considering something about her. Ami tensed under the scrutiny and wrung her hands slightly, glancing over to Mamoru, who she trusted more than a stern feline. He shrugged in a way that most unhelpful, deciding that he would have to impart onto Ami just how exasperating Luna was at a later date. He suspected that Luna had a similar inclination.

After a few moments of a silence filled only with unease, Luna spoke again. "I am not entirely sure how I know this," Luna explained, "so don't ask me. It just suddenly dawned on me earlier today. Not quite like a memory, but..." Luna shook her head and trailed off. There was no way to explain it to them properly. The most apt analogy she could come up with was that her memory was an endless row of locked doors, all leading to complete memories from her past life. Every once in a while, she would suddenly find herself peering into a keyhole, seeing an incomplete fragment of a recollection. It was rarely ever helpful in any way other than to make her wish she were human so that she could throw something out the window.

This was a welcome, if not rare, exception.

Repeating the gestures Luna had invoked to summon the henshin pen of Mercury, Luna leapt into the air, turning end over end. Ami seemed to stiffen all the more, fearing what might appear. Mamoru, who had never seen this before, stared at the cat in bewilderment as she left a trail of moon dust in her wake. Confusion easily gave way to awe when a tiny blue object roughly the size of a checkbook clattered loudly on to the coffee table. It was branded with the sign of Mercury.

Ami leaned forward, instantly drawn to it as if it were a diamond - or in her case, a sapphire. Her eyes were just a little bit brighter as she breathed, "What it is it?" She seemed both eager and wary to touch it.

"It's a mini-computer," Luna said, sitting down heavily on the wooden table. It must have taken more out of her than she had let on earlier. "It should be quite useful in battle for ascertaining an enemy's weak point among other things. And I would be willing to venture a guess that it dates back to the Silver Millennium itself. It might help shed some light on our enemy, though I don't think there's anything on there concerning the fall. It all came as quite a surprise back then. I somehow very much doubt we were even allowed the luxury of sleep."

Both Mamoru and Ami were very tempted to insist that sleep was not a luxury but a biological necessity. However, they had both heard as much as Luna knew about the collapse of the Silver Millennium. And so they said nothing.

Ami finally took it, inspecting it with something more than academic curiosity. Her fingers traced the symbol of Mercury on the lid. However, there was some doubt in her eyes. "A computer from a thousand years ago? And one this small with those capabilities? I'm not sure there's a device now that could do all of that."

Luna mulled over this for a moment before responding. "From what I recall, the planets of the Silver Alliance were incredibly advanced. I can't tell you anything specific, but I just get that overall indication. Obviously, Earth was kept out of the loop. All of it was lost when the End came and had to be rediscovered by the only surviving race. Some of it still remains unmade, but all in due time I expect."

Mamoru got up and came around to peer over Ami's shoulder. She was finally opening it. It came to life, and Ami instantly began experimenting, zipping through screen after screen. He soon found he had to look away before overtaken by vertigo. He glanced down at the keyboard and saw four other buttons of varying colors - red, orange, green, and pink. He was hardly an artist, but the lack of balance between the hues was still bothersome.

He glanced over at Luna, who really did look quite tired. "How does that flip thing work?"

Luna shrugged to the best of her ability. "I like to think there's a storage facility somewhere on the moon that has all of our weapons hidden away until we need them. But I honestly have no idea. I do know that I can only access things when they are needed. I couldn't get any of the other henshin rods out when I tried."

"This is amazing," Ami breathed, shutting the lid out of politeness. "I've never seen anything like this."

Mamoru grinned. He bet he knew how she was going to spend her Friday night.

Luna nodded. "Yes, and I expect it will be most helpful against our enemies. After all, we are at a bit of a disadvantage given Mamoru's lack of ability and your defensive--"

"Luna," Mamoru interrupted harshly, seeing Ami's pained change of expression. He knew the girl actually felt guilty for not being able to offer up anything on the offense front. It was laughable from a logical standpoint, but perfectly understandable from the emotional viewpoint of an already insecure teenager.

Ami looked away from both of them, studying a fading coffee stain on the carpet. Judging by how immaculate everything else was, she doubted Mamoru had caused it. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help. I know that I was probably the last thing you were hoping for."

Mamoru winced and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, face unflushed. He smiled. "Don't worry about it. We'll find the others. It's not like you won't come in handy."

Ami nodded. She knew he was right about that much. "But I was hardly what you needed two days ago. You were nearly killed."

Mamoru scoffed casually. "Please. That's old hat for me by now. Besides, I have a feeling that only the famed Odango Atama will ever do me in." He brightened, grinning slightly. "I wonder if that has a Tsukino tracking feature on it. It can send off the alarm whenever she's within five miles of us. Then you can run away if she tries to save you from me again."

Unable to help herself, Ami broke out into a wide grin. Given how much Mamoru had helped her in the last battle, Usagi's noble intentions were laughable at best.

"About that," Luna broke in, once again darkening the mood in the room. It wasn't that she enjoyed being the constant buzz kill among them. It was just a necessary evil. She took a deep breath, feeling their wary gazes upon her even though her eyes were closed. "I think perhaps it is best if both of you do everything you possibly can to maintain your distance from Miss Tsukino."

Mamoru saw Ami's eyes widen. "Luna, not that I don't yearn for a reason to stay away from Odango Atama, but I thought we decided that she wasn't a threat."

"She isn't," Luna said, somewhat surprised at his conclusion.

"Then why the need for avoidance? I mean, Ami goes to school with her. They're going to be in close quarters no matter what for at least five days out of the week. And it's not as if I ever go looking for her. She just always finds me, and I usually end up with little more than a bruised ego because of it." Old wounds that had not left so much as a scar throbbed at the memories.

Luna sighed. "I'm aware. However, since she has already all but proven herself to be a... a trouble magnet for lack of a better term, I think it is best that you don't give her any more bad luck. Both of you are bound to attract attention from the enemy in civilian form as well. It's safer all around if you keep away."

Mamoru wasn't sure he followed her logic. Ami appeared to be equally perplexed and spoke up about it first, her voice a little shaky. "But... But wouldn't it be better if we were watching her? I mean, if the enemy really does... follow her,  
shouldn't we be around to rescue her if necessary?"

"The enemy doesn't have it out for her, Ami," Luna explained. "It's just a turn of fate that she happens to fall into these situations. Perhaps it's her naïveté that leads her into these traps. I don't know. The point is, I don't think that we should lead her into more danger than necessary. Destiny will more often than not bring the battles to you. If she's around you, she's liable to get hurt."

Ami went pale and Mamoru felt a lump form in his throat. He swallowed it before he said anything. "I'm not entirely sure I agree. But then I'm not sure I disagree either. Then again, it isn't as if I'd consider it a great loss." He glanced over at Ami, who looked a little ill.

Ami's grip on the mini computer had tightened considerably. "I... I can't stay away from her all that easily," Ami admitted. "But... if you're sure that it will prevent Usagi from being hurt, I suppose I don't have any choice."

With that, Ami rose to leave, bidding them goodbye only as an afterthought. Mamoru led her out, filing away that stoop of her shoulders for future reference. He had a suspicion about her sudden bought of depression, but he wasn't about to bring it to Luna's attention or bring it up at all for that matter. He spared Ami a smile as she left. She struggled to return one and failed valiantly.

-----

She had just gone in for her usual meditation. No one was wondering about the fate of their impending marriage, which she could have told them was doomed for failure without the help of clairvoyance. No one had asked her if the intentions of a business associate were pure though they were charlatans all. No one had asked her to find their missing wallet, which they claimed was only important to them because of the priceless photographs of their children, not the five hundred dollars they always carried around in case they longed for an impulse buy. Instead, she had gone before the sacred flame not as a favor to her father's associates, but as a human being seeking enlightenment and, on a more attainable level, a little peace.

Therefore, it was most surprising when after only a few moments of stilled silence, the fire offered up its own series of images.

First, she saw a man. She immediately recognized him as the supposed masked hero that had been on the front page of the paper that morning. The one her classmates had been ogling with typically unchristian intentions. This immediately left her longing to be dubious, but she knew better than to question the fire's intentions.

He was standing on the edge of a building. The moon was full, providing an impressive backdrop as his cape billowed forward. He was a mere shadow, a silhouette in the calm evening. But while the city rested, he remained ever vigilant, wary of things she could not see even from her vantage point. He was weary, not tired. Something about that surprised and even alarmed her, though she was unsure why.

Next, a girl. That much was apparent judging from her incredibly risqué attire. It was something like their school uniforms, but not nearly so modest. She was all blue, from her boots to her hair. It was snowing; the landscape lent itself to her appearance nicely. There was snow and ice as far as her far-seeing eye could see. She didn't think it was Tokyo. The only remarkable thing about the scene aside from the girl itself was the fact that she didn't seem to be affected by the cold.

Then, a third person. Again, this was nothing more than a silhouette, although she didn't recognize this one. Short skirt and long hair, standing amidst a sea of flame. Or maybe she was just a shadow in the fire? The seer could not be sure. Her stance was confident; her jaw was set. There was something all too familiar and strange about the image. It was unsettling.

Finally, a series of images so blurred and rapid fire she could barely make them out. Red high heels pounding against uneven cement. Blood running down marble stairs. Ruins of Ancient Greece. A woman with fairy wings. A girl with golden hair. A red mask. A red rose. A fiery symbol she knew but could not name.

"REI!"

She was violently yanked out of her trance and shrieked a little because of it. She was left panting, even trembling for reasons she couldn't properly explain. Never one to be caught looking vulnerable, she shook her head, raven hair flying about violently. Then she trained her vengeful gaze onto the unwelcome interruption.

"Grandpa," Rei groused, gritting her teeth slightly. "What is wrong with you? You of all people should know better than to do that!" She quickly got to her feet, dusting off her red and white robes with great dignity.

He chuckled rudely, feeling no reason to be subjected to Japan's strict moral traditions at his age. He waddled forward, looking every bit a bald penguin, and said, "Is that any way to talk to your ailing grandfather?"

Rei somehow resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "You are not ailing, Grandpa. You haven't had so much as a cough in two months."

"I'm old!" he snapped with the sole intention of grating her nerves. It was the only entertainment he had, after all. "I'm always ailing."

She scoffed and walked past him, traveling across the courtyard to their residence. She highly doubted she'd be able to enter a meditative state now.

He followed after her, glancing back at the fire before he exited. He caught up with his granddaughter and scolded, "You shouldn't leave an old man alone like that. You'll never know when I'll up and drop dead. And then won't you be sorry for how you've treated me?"

Rei shut her eyes and took a very deep breath. His macabre humor had never amused her. She'd mentioned as such on several occasions and often at the top of her voice. He never seemed to get the message. "I knew you were going to follow me,  
Grandpa. You always do."

He would have conceded that because it was true, but he never conceded anything. He enjoyed the argument too much. Even so, he opted to change the subject to why he'd interrupted her in the first place. "Mr. Watanabe called."

He referred to his friend formally solely for her benefit. Watanabe Jiro and Rei's grandfather were old friends and fellow Shinto priests. As a matter of face, she was quite surprised he was even mentioning it to her. "That's why you interrupted me?" she asked in a voice that was both incredulous and irritated.

Rei entered their humble abode, ever mindful of her grandfather trailing just slightly behind her as she walked into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water. It was nearly ritualistic after her meditations. The smoke always left her rather parched.

Her grandfather nodded seriously and continued, "It seems he's come down with a nasty bout of food poisoning. Bad piece of fish I expect. Anyway, it appears that he won't be able to teach the Beginner's course in Kyudo tomorrow. He was wondering if you would be able to handle it on your own."

Rei choked slightly on her water. "Me?"

He nodded again. "Yes. You were going to assist him anyway."

"Well, yes," Rei said, finding no suitable argument to counter that fact. "But there's a difference between helping Watanabe and teaching the class by myself. I couldn't possibly--"

"He says that you're quite a talent," he observed, puffing his chest out with something like fatherly pride. "You've only just started studying the way of the bow, and you've already surpassed those who have been studying it for years.  
Watanabe tells me that he's never seen anything like it."

Rei had to smile a little at that. It was true. The minute she'd first picked up the three foot long yumi, or bow, she'd felt as if she'd been born with one in her hands. She had a natural sense for how to hold it, how far she could test the string, how to aim the arrow so that she would hit the target dead center. She had gotten so good that she'd been permitted to use a traditional bamboo yumi as opposed to the fiberglass ones that most beginners used. Watanabe had commented on it in private, but Rei had never been one to brag.

Still, there was something about actually teaching the class by herself that unsettled Rei. She was wont to write it off as nervousness or low confidence, but she wasn't exactly the type to think low of herself. No, her discomfort was of an altogether different matter.

Rei was something of a clairvoyant. She could hardly predict a certain future or look into a person's mind. But she had a very strong intuition. She would get a certain feeling about a person, a place, or an upcoming event. She could remember exactly one instance in which her feeling had been wrong, and that was because she'd placed too much faith in a man. Clouded by emotion, she'd drawn the wrong conclusion and paid for it.

There was no reason for such a thing to happen here. Her unease was surely indicative of something. But of what, she was not sure.

"I don't think I can do it, Grandpa," Rei said simply, hoping he wouldn't question her too much.

In fact, he didn't question her at all. He merely grinned and turned away, talking over his shoulder as he left the room. "Too bad. I already said you'd do it. Good night, Rei!"

With that he fled, perhaps fearing for life and limb. She glared after him, clutching her glass of water in a grip that threatened to break it. When it did not shatter, she turned her gaze onto it, finding fault with its strength. After awhile, she set it down harshly and folded her arms across her chest, looking every bit the petulant child.

After another moment, Rei's scowl softened into a look of worry. She looked out the window and saw the waxing moon. She shivered slightly and turned away.

-----

It was either very late or very early, depending on one's perspective. To Hoshino Ayame, it was the latter. She had spent the last few hours on a date with her boyfriend. It had begun like any other outing with dinner and then back to his place for a movie and the inevitable. He'd been rather terse at dinner, but Ayame had assumed it was because of stress at work. Then he'd been tense when she'd tried to cuddle up next to him, and she'd begun to get a little suspicious. As the credits rolled, she'd finally worked up the nerve to confront him about his behavior.

And he had dumped her.

Ayame had then spent the last few hours a sobbing, screaming mess, demanding to know what had gone wrong and why he'd led her on. He had been evasive, as men tended to be in this situation. She had finally given up on ever getting a suitable answer, thrown something that looked like it might be expensive, and stormed out of his apartment.

She was still something of a sobbing mess, though she somehow managed to keep from screaming at any vaguely masculine thing she passed. Thankfully, she was beginning to reach a point in her despondent rage that she projected blame inward as opposed to outward. And if past experiences told her anything, this would continue for about two weeks where she would mope about her apartment, eat lots of ice cream, and then frantically go on a crash diet when one of her friends set her up with another friend of hers.

She was just beginning to calm down, wiping some stray tears and ruined mascara off her face, when she bumped into someone. Her contacts were blurred from crying, and it wasn't like she'd been paying that much attention to begin with. Ayame sniffed to try and make her voice somewhat understandable. She would have bowed, but the man was holding her arms to keep her from toppling over. "I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's all right," he said softly, his voice as smooth as the scotch she was in desperate need of. He let go of one of her arms with a fluid motion and produced a handkerchief. "Take this. Please."

Ayame did and blew into it rather loudly, suspecting after the fact that he probably wouldn't be wanting it back. She dabbed at her eyes, wincing at the amount of black that came off on the once pristine linen. This was hardly what she would call waterproof. "Thank you."

"Is everything all right?" he asked, still holding on to her other arm.

There was something about his voice that was booth soothing and chilling at the same time. She didn't appear to notice as her throat tightened with the threat of more tears. Of course, she wasn't about to tell a perfect stranger about her personal life, but she had to answer him somehow. What started off as a poorly convincing yes turned into nothing more than an unbecoming whimper and a strangled sob, soon followed by the second trumpet of her nose.

"Shh..." he soothed, placing two fingers gently on her fading red lips. "Hush now. I think you need some rest."

All at once, Ayame felt her body tighten. She dropped the handkerchief at once and started convulsing slightly. She looked up into his cold eyes, irises colored like ice. He was smiling at her as if this was a perfectly normal thing to happen. After a few seconds, Ayame's eyes rolled into the back of her head. She keeled forward, jeweled hands hanging loosely at her sides.

He caught her again without so much as a grunt of effort. He hefted her over to the other side of the sidewalk, propping her up against the brick wall. He would have been grateful for the fact that there was no one else around, but he really didn't care if he was seen. He'd be able to handle that soon enough.

Once he was sure that Ayame was positioned out for the first observant, sober passerby to see, he turned on his heel and left her. After all, the night was still young. She'd hardly been his first victim, but she certainly wouldn't be his last.

Jadeite put his hands in his pockets and congratulated himself on a job well done.

-----

The next morning, Rei arose bright and early as she did every morning in order to attend to her shrine duties. She made sure not to dawdle, showering quickly and walking at a fairly brisk pace. She attempted to make certain that she only grumbled and complained when her grandfather was out of earshot. Unfortunately, old as he was, his hearing was impeccable. Thus, she was forced to bear a total of five short lectures on a how a proper shrine maiden would take up her responsibilities without complaint.

As Rei finished setting up the charm stand, she silently noted that on a normal Saturday, she wouldn't have minded the work. However, she was nervous about teaching a class she'd been forced into, and Rei had a tendency to express most of her emotions through yelling. Particularly in the morning. She still couldn't understand why Watanabe Jiro had appointed her substitute when he could have asked any number of Kyudo experts in the city.

Then again, the Kyudo instructor was very much like her grandfather in that he enjoyed torturing her mercilessly. She wouldn't have been to surprised if he was perfectly healthy and holing himself up in some secret corner to watch her fall on her face and then laugh about it publicly.

"I don't see what's so amusing about my temperament," Rei muttered irritably.

Rei stepped out from behind the booth and went back inside. She could smell the sweet aroma of tea before she finished sliding the door shut. She took a deep breath, already feeling her nerves begin to settle. She could hardly wait to actually drink it.

"Here you are, Rei," her grandfather said pleasantly as she sat down. "Obnoxiously strong. Just as you like it."

Rei couldn't help but smile at the comment. "Thank you."

She had barely finished pressing her lips to the porcelain when her grandfather took note of Rei's tense jaw. He chuckled to himself, folding his hands across his stomach. "Surely you're not this worked over just teaching a class?"

Rei sighed, setting down the cup on the table again. "Maybe I wouldn't be if someone had bothered to ask me about it before--"

"All right, all right. You've made your point about that," he snapped gently. "Regardless, I know my granddaughter. You're too confident to be worked up about this. You're upset about something else that you'd rather not think on it, so you're blaming a helpless old man for your problems."

Rei laughed, scoffing at the notion of him being helpless. However, when she took a long sip of her tea, she took a minute to ponder what he was saying. Her grandfather was right. Something else was tying her stomach up in knots. She swallowed, cradling the hot cup in her cold hands.

"I've been having... strange visions lately."

Her grandfather quirked his lips slightly, looking smug but concerned. "Strange how?"

Rei frowned, looking away as she tried to recall. She wasn't quite sure how to properly explain it. The visions themselves weren't odd, but the feelings she had while she was getting them were. "It's nothing disturbing. Well, not really. They're just images that don't seem to have very much to do with one another. Symbols, roses, masks, high heels--"

Her grandfather's eyes twinkled lecherously. "Can I be in your next vision?"

Finding there was nothing on hand to throw at him, Rei instead took a very long sip of her tea. It was hot enough to burn her throat and mouth, but she'd never seemed to mind that.

"I feel like something is coming. Something's on the horizon and it's... terrible and wonderful at the same time. It's something big. I can feel it."

The old man puzzled over this for some time, finishing one cup of tea and pouring another. After several long minutes, he said, "You know, your grandmother was a very special woman, Rei. Gentle... kind... except in the morning. The woman was never a morning person. And she had your gift."

Rei smiled softly, once again wishing that the woman had lived long enough to meet her. "So you've told me."

"Never hurts to hear it again," he said with a casual shrug, clearing his throat. "But she was a remarkable woman. I wish that you two could have met. You would have gotten on famously and had a wonderful time torturing me I expect." He laughed, his gaze slipping to the window as it always did whenever he talked about his wife. "Most importantly, she could have taught you how to hone your sight and help you understand some of these visions. But, even though I don't have your gift, I can accurately say that you'll be able to handle whatever it is you see coming. One of my greatest joys was learning that you were not cursed with the poor health your grandmother and your mother suffered. I've yet to have a happier day than when the doctor said you had not inherited the thing that destroyed what was most precious to me. So, I will not worry for I never have. You have strength others can merely dream of, and you will face this... wonderful and terrible whatever it is."

Rei must have been beaming at her grandfather, basking in this rare and welcome praise. He was not the type of man who liked to be serious. Still, there were times when she remembered why she didn't whack him over the head with her broom every chance she got.

Before she could thank him for his guidance, her grandfather became distracted by a pair of giggles coming from outside. His posture improved considerably as he zipped away from the little table, sticking his head out the window and waving like some giddy schoolboy. "I'll be out in just a minute, ladies!"

Rei began to nurse the migraine she was sure would appear shortly. "I hate it when you sell charms," she groused. "All you do is flirt with the customers. Our profits are going to be down on one of our busiest days."

He pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out at her. "Oh, stop whining! You spoil all my fun. And anyway, you're exaggerating. I'm sure profits will sky rocket today. Who could resist this physique?" He proceeded to demonstrate his point with a few bodybuilding poses, screwing up his face unnaturally.

"You look constipated," Rei told him plainly, finishing off the last of her cold tea. "And I should get going."

"You are a very mean girl, Rei," he informed her plainly. "But it doesn't matter. I only have eyes for those tw-- three lovely young ladies outside." He paused to shine up his bald head so much that it would probably be a hazard come noon time. "Careful your face doesn't free--"

He suddenly broke off to indulge in a raging coughing fit. Rei immediately dropped the things she had been collecting and ran over to his side, rubbing his back as he hacked away.

"It's all right. Calm down. Let me just... Where are your pills?" She fumbled around on the kitchen counter to try and find the right bottle before laying hands on the correct one.

"No--" He wheezed painfully. "Pills!"

Rei sighed as she struggled with the childproof cap. "Don't be stubborn! The doctor says you should take them, and that's what you'll do whether you like it or not."

"I am perfectly heal--" The rest of his sentence was lost to another round of painful coughing.

"No. You're. Not," Rei snapped, finally getting the bottle open. After pouring two horse pills from the bottle into her palm, she reached over to grab the remainder of her grandfather's tea. "You're old. And since you refuse to take care of yourself, you're still not over the pneumonia you from last February. Now take your pills."

When he opened his mouth to protest, Rei popped them in, holding out the cold cup of tea to wash them down. Seeing no point in fighting anymore, her grandfather took the cup and swallowed the pills, holding his chest once they were down. After a few more minutes, his fit seemed to have subsided.

"Are you all right?" Rei aked, still hovering over him.

He swatted her away, stomping outside to tend to the customers. "Yes, obaa-san. I hope you don't fret over your students like you do me. You'd send them to Tokyo General if they pricked their fingers on the tip of the arrow."

Rei glared at his now retreating back, clenching her fist tightly. Of course, he was stubborn and ornery and... him. He laughed off her concern, putting his health in danger and worrying her sick.

"Idiot," she grumbled before gathering up her things. She sniffed as she slung the strap over her shoulder, rubbing at her nose vigorously. She double checked to make sure she had everything she might need for the outing and then headed outside.

She stopped just before she left the shrine, pondering something for a moment. Rei suddenly turned on her heel and went to where the evil wards were kept. Technically her grandfather had forbidden her to take them off temple ground after trying to banish a classmate of hers many years earlier. Though Rei continued to insist that the girl really was an evil spirit, her attempt at banishment had resulted in the girl winding up unconscious and Rei's near expulsion. Her father had been the one thing to save her from being kicked out, and it was written off as child's play gone out of hand.

Rei still didn't understand why she'd had to thank her father for that, but that was beside the point. All she really cared about was the future and the consequences of being ill prepared. Rei always went with her gut instinct in these matters, even if it seemed odd at the time. It had served her well in the past, and hopefully this would do the same.

Slipping four ofunda up her sleeve, Rei once again turned to go, walking as quickly as she could without actually jogging. She knew she should have left quite awhile ago, and this was not how she wanted her day to begin.

She emerged just in time to see the two gigglers actually running away from the shrine without a smile between them. Rei could tell that they hadn't purchased anything. She somehow resisted the temptation just to stay home and take over the position. Much as she would like to, she was obligated to teach that class, and she was just going to have to make the best of it.

Rei looked back over to see an exceptionally tall girl with chestnut hair walking up to the counter, blushing slightly. Nevertheless, Rei thought she looked capable of handling the old man. Rei found herself impressed. There weren't many who could.

"Hello, young lady!" her grandfather chorused merrily, his voice still slightly raspy from earlier. He was standing on tiptoe and still couldn't look the brunette in the eye. Then again, that might have been his intention. "Surely a pretty thing like you doesn't need a love charm. Although, if you've just ended a bad relationship and would like a little comfort--"

Rei counted to ten slowly... very slowly, and descended the stairs.

"Actually, I was wondering if you had any good luck charms," Rei heard the girl say as she walked off. "You see, I'll be moving soon and I need to find a good apartment near Juuban Municipal."

-----

After a restless night, Ami woke up earlier than usual that Saturday morning, even for the ten a.m. Kyudo class. While most teenagers would have preferred to remain languid in bed until it was absolutely necessary for them to begin moving, Ami had never been that sort of person. So, she went through her normal morning routine and prepared to head out the door.

As an afterthought, she grabbed her mini-computer out of her briefcase before leaving the penthouse.

Ami wandered for a while, always heading in the direction of the culture center to assure that she wouldn't be tardy. She didn't want to think about what Luna would say to that. So, she walked about Tokyo, taking in the scenery and the sunshine in a way that she wasn't used to doing on a normal, day to day basis. She tried to content herself with idle thoughts such as these along the way, but that was very hard to do with a new magical gadget burning a hole in her pocket.

Eventually, she gave up the pretense and pulled it out, gazing at the sleek blue metal. Her symbol was inlaid gold, in stark contrast with the cool appearance of the rest of the computer. To anyone else, it looked like it might be a fancy calculator or even a checkbook to the quickest of glances. No one would ever guess what it actually was and what sort of secrets it held.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Ami flipped open the case and started it up again. It had been her intention to test it out the night before, but she'd been very surprised to find her mother at home the night before. Considering how long it had been since the two had been able to spend any quality time together, Ami had all but forgotten about the little computer.

But now, with another hour or so to kill before she had to be at the culture center, Ami saw absolutely no reason why she should begin exploring this new... or rather, ancient technology.

Ami shook her head slightly in disbelief. All of this was still quite difficult to wrap her brain around.

She browsed for awhile, getting a feeling of how to navigate the contraption. It was simple enough. Just a matter of punching the right keys in the right order. Of course, it was too bad that there hadn't been USB ports in the Silver Millennium. It would have been nice to hook up a mouse to it.

Ami wondered if perhaps it was possible to upgrade this once she got the hang of it.

First, there was the task of testing out the scanning feature. Luna had told her that it would be useful in assessing the weaknesses of an enemy. Fortunately, there weren't any youma running around just then, so Ami decided to try it out on the people that passed her by.

She engaged the scanning mode, and the computer whirred loudly for a moment. Thankfully, no one appeared to notice. Ami heard some other curious noises and craned her head so that she could see the front of her computer. She blinked a little when she saw a very tiny hole open up in the middle of the symbol - like a camera lens of some kind. She wasn't entirely surprised. After all, it had to seek out its targets somehow. Even so, she was a little disappointed. She hadn't expected the mini-computer to be this noisy.

Still, she supposed it was a small price to pay. And really she was the only one who had noticed anything as of yet. But then it made sense that she'd be hypersensitive. There was some fear of getting caught after all.

Ami put that out of mind and resumed looking at her computer screen. It was small and a little hard to read given how quickly everything was zooming by. She didn't see how this would be anything but detrimental in a battle situation. She was having to throw every bit of concentration into trying to read everything quickly enough. Surely there must have been a better way to do this.

Nevertheless, the scanning feature did prove to be mildly entertaining. The computer managed to tell her things in a few seconds that would have taken her mother hours to conclude with the latest technology. She was able to instantly assess a person's blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, white blood cell count, and just about everything else she could ever ask about a person.  
She'd even had to stop herself from telling a man who was obviously diabetic that his blood sugar was low. But perhaps what would be most useful in a battle situation was that the computer was able to reveal old and current injuries. And while a badly heeled ankle might not have been important to some, Ami suspected that such information would be vital in combat.

Ami smiled.

Once reassured that she understood at least the basics of that program, Ami shut it off and decided to check on Luna's theory. She searched the hard drive and discovered that this was indeed a veritable cornucopia of information from the Silver Millennium. Her heart soared. Perhaps this could unlock all of the secrets that were being kept from them. Maybe now they would be able to find the princess,  
find the other Senshi, find out who Mamoru was or had been and what his significance was.

However, upon closer inspection, Ami realized that this was going to be more difficult than she'd anticipated. She supposed she should have foreseen that. While there were stores of information, many of the folders were marked with what looked to be a child's nonsensical scrawl when they pretended they knew how to write. Yet, there was something elegant about the scribbles, and several of the symbols repeated.

"A dead language?" Ami muttered, narrowing her eyes slightly. It didn't look like anything she'd ever seen before. Upon reflection, Ami supposed that it made perfect sense for the Moon Kingdom to have their own language entirely separate from that of Earth. As a matter of fact, from the way Luna talked, the Moon and the other planets had done just about everything possible to separate themselves from the ancient Terrans.

Stranger still was the fact that there were several of the folders that Ami could read. But these were marked not in Japanese, but in English of all things. She was hardly fluent in the language, but she knew enough to understand what she was being presented with.

Nevertheless, she thought it was quite odd that only some of the files were marked in English. After all, if the enemy was basing operations in Japan and two of the warriors meant to defeat them lived in Japan, should they be marked in Japanese for their convenience?

Unless there was some worry that the enemy would ever get their hands on this device. Ami had to admit, it was surprising that there were next to no security features for her to bypass. It had worked just as easily, although a great deal faster, than her personal computer at home. Then again, perhaps it knew her somehow. It was marked with her crest. Maybe it would only work for her.

Another possibility was that there had been or was some activity connected with them in an English speaking country. Although what that had to do with her computer was beyond her, it was something to consider. She would have to discuss it with Luna later on.

After mulling over all of this information for several minutes, Ami decided to go ahead and try to get a look at some of the information stored on this thing. She glanced over the few files that she could read and selected what she thought might be most pertinent to their cause.

GUARDIAN SOLDIER FILES

Ami double clicked smartly, glancing around for any suspicious pedestrians as it whirred to life again. The file opened in seconds again, pinging to let her know that she had succeeded. There were four more files within, each marked with the name of another Sailor Senshi. Her name was there, or rather Mercury, along with Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.

"Well, I suppose that's who we'll be looking for next then," Ami murmured softly.

She looked at the four files intently, weighing one option against the next. She decided that it ultimately would be wise if she avoided looked at her own file, at least for a little while. She wasn't sure what sort of things would be listed, but she suspected there was a reason why they didn't remember everything from their past lives.

She feared finding too much too soon would do nothing more than terrify her into inaction, leaving Mamoru on his own once again. Therefore, although it was tempting, Ami avoided clicking on her name. Instead, she decided to start at the top and work her way down.

SAILOR VENUS

Surely it was listed first for a reason. Quietly determined to find out just what that reason was, Ami double clicked the name with practiced skill. She listened to the now familiar noises and awaited the expected ping.

Much to her surprise, a lower tone emitted from the computer. She blinked and leaned in close to her computer screen as a smaller window popped up. She felt the usual surge of annoyance. Small windows were never, ever a good sign.

ERROR 42105: INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE - ACCESS DENIED

Ami pursed her lips, feeling a migraine coming on. Computers were volatile things, prone to malfunctioning at the most frustrating times. More often than not, it was done on a whim, making Ami wonder if perhaps the soulless machines were punishing the human race for their constant mistreatment and overuse. Of course, that was actually the sort of thing she'd hear her mother screaming from her office at three in the morning, forcing Ami to get up and attempt to fix the problem. When all of her attempts failed, she often found herself prescribing to the sentiment against her better judgment.

However, this wasn't just a paper or a school assignment she was working on. She was trying to locate the other Sailor Senshi in hopes of strengthening their forces against their faceless enemy. This was important. This was vital. The fate of the world depended on her accessing this information, and she didn't have the proper security clearance?

Ami rubbed the skin where her eyebrows furrowed together. She could practically taste the impending migraine.

Seeing no reason to try and access that file again, Ami turned her attention to the one underneath it. Of course, it was illogical that she had the proper clearance for one Senshi and not another, but then again, it was illogical that she didn't have the proper security for files stored on her computer either. She may as well give it a shot.

SAILOR MARS

Ami double clicked again, bracing herself for the worst but hoping for the best. She could barely contain her excitement when the high pitched chime sounded and a new page opened, revealing Mars's file.

SOLDIER: SAILOR MARS  
CIVILIAN IDENTITY: UNKNOWN  
RANKING: SECOND IN COMMAND  
PRIMARY FUNCTION: GUARDIAN TO THE PRINCESS  
LOCATION: UNKNOWN - SUSPECTED TO BE IN TOKYO, JUUBAN AREA  
AGE: UNKNOWN - PROJECTED TO BE FROM 10-35  
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: UNKNOWN - POSSIBLY A FIRE SIGN  
HEIGHT: UNKNOWN  
WEIGHT: UNKNOWN  
BLOOD TYPE: UNKNOWN  
ELEMENT: FIRE  
UNIFORM: RED, PURPLE  
STRENGTHS: UNKNOWN  
WEAKNESSES: UNKNOWN  
POWERS: RESTRICTED

Ami sighed quietly, unable to help herself. Granted, it was more information than they had possessed previously, but it was still hardly helpful. It couldn't even given her a definitive age bracket or location to work with. Projections and suspicions were somewhat helpful, but it only confirmed what she, Mamoru, and Luna had already assumed. The only remotely helpful information was the knowledge that this soldier would wield fire. She could naturally deduce that such a capability would be used primarily for offensive maneuvers, which was a good thing considering neither she nor Mamoru had such abilities.

Still and all, Ami had been hoping that she would be able to find more useful information than this. She supposed she could fill in the statistics once Sailor Mars was located, but that would hardly be beneficial after the fact.

Ami shook her head slightly and exited the file. Perhaps Sailor Jupiter's would be more lucrative.

"Ami!"

She quickly snapped the computer shut, looking up in mute horror as a bouncing, blonde rabbit came hopping her way from across the street. It was none other than Tsukino Usagi, looking impossibly cheerful and glad to see her. She looked as if she had woken up that morning hoping the two of them would cross paths.

Ami contemplated running as fast as she possibly could in the opposite direction.

It was torturous to stand there as Usagi bounded towards her. Ami knew it was absurd, but Luna had spoken as if a monster would surely pop up to kill them if Ami went anywhere near Usagi ever again. Of course, that didn't happen, but Ami had no choice but to trust Luna's basic philosophy.

Usagi was in danger every time Ami was near her. Therefore, Ami had to go out of her way to avoid Usagi...

Her only friend.

Ami swallowed a lump in her throat and forced a smile as Usagi threw her arms around her as if they'd known each other for decades. She looked over the blonde's shoulder to see Naru, Eriko, and Arisu were accompanying her on this outing. None of them looked particularly thrilled to see her.

Ami quickly looked away. "Usagi. I... didn't expect to run into you today."

"Me either!" Usagi chirped excitedly. "I thought you'd be studying or reading or something like that! What are you doing today?" Relieved to find a way to get away from Usagi, Ami opened her mouth to respond. She was promptly cut off by Usagi's hyperactive gasp, her freshly manicured hands falling on Ami's shoulders. "Oh! You know what you should do? You should come shopping with us! It will be so much fun! We can buy clothes and cake and maybe some jewelry and we could get ice cream and maybe later we could go to the arcade and have one of Motoki's amazing sundaes!"

Although she couldn't attend, Ami couldn't help but look to Usagi's trio of friends. Naru seemed to be the only one even willing to put forth a civil effort, even though Ami could tell that she wasn't particularly thrilled about it. Eriko looked openly hostile, glaring at Ami as if all of the world's problems were a result of her feeble existence. Arisu did her best to mimic Eriko's stare, but it was less effective given how her cheeks puffed out with the Pocky she was eating.

"So, how about it, Ami?" Usagi asked, jumping up and down a little. "Can you come? Please?"

"I..." Ami began, her voice very quiet. It was her full intention to simply tell Usagi the truth. She had a previous engagement she had to fulfill. She couldn't go shopping with them. And for the sake of politeness, she would say that they could try another time. In reality, she wouldn't do it and not just because of the way Eriko was looking at her.

But when Ami looked at those crystal blue eyes, she was suddenly filled with fear. Not of Usagi or any specific force, but of the unknown future and what dangers they could hold for this girl. If she was indeed some kind of magnet for unfortunate occurrences, Ami's being there really was endangering her. All of her reservations about Luna's theory flew out the window. Rational thought gave way to irrational emotion, and Ami was suddenly filled with an intense, desperate need to get away from Usagi.

Ami had to protect her, even if it meant sacrificing her friendship.

She pulled away from Usagi, perhaps too quickly judging by the blonde's surprised expression. Ami apologized and blurted, "I--I'm sorry, Usagi. I have something else I have to do, and I... Sorry."

With that, Ami fled with Hermes' wings on her feet, thinking perhaps they'd assume she was running late. Unfortunately, judging by their conversation, that was hardly the case.

"Ami..." Usagi whispered sadly, staring after her.

Eriko snorted. "I told you that girl wasn't worth your time, Usagi."

"Yeah, talk about rude," Arisu agreed.

"Come on, Usagi. The shopping district awaits," Naru remarked neutrally.

Ami stopped running when she was around the corner, hearing the vague buzz of their continued conversation as they wandered off in the other direction. She squeezed her eyes shut, her grip tightening on her new computer.

It wasn't fair. It was a childish thought, one that Ami normally wouldn't entertain. But in this case, there was simply no other way in which Ami could describe the incredible injustice that was taking place.

It was her duty to protect the people of Tokyo, and Usagi obviously fell under that wide umbrella. But in order to do so, Ami had to keep her distance. Even though Usagi was the first person to pay her any attention willingly in years, she had to avoid her for the greater good. Ami may have needed a friend, but some things were more important than shopping trips, midnight phone calls, and idle chat over some ice cream.

But it just wasn't fair.

"Ami?"

For the second time, she looked up in surprise at someone calling her name. She was greeted with Mamoru's concerned face bending over hers. It was necessary for him to make eye contact considering the incredible disparity between their heights,  
but it still unnerved her slightly.

He raised an eyebrow, somehow making the expression gentle. "Are you all right?"

Having no other options, Ami nodded slightly and glanced down at her mini-computer. "I'm fine," she insisted, not sounding particularly convincing. "I was just... I was just experimenting with the new computer, and it proved to be a little more difficult than I anticipated."

Ami looked up, hoping he would leave it at that. It wasn't a lie, but it was hardly an accurate representation of the truth either.

Mamoru didn't seem assuaged by her explanation, but mercifully, he didn't pursue it. He shrugged casually. "If you say so."

Luna, who was once again perched on his shoulder, hopped down on Ami's. She looked down at the blue device in Ami's hand and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to be able to navigate it easily, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it after awhile."

Ami nodded, wondering how Luna managed to make words of encouragement sound so critical.

Sensing her discomfort, Mamoru gestured in the way he had been walking before he ran into Ami. "I was just on my way to the culture center. Why don't you tell us about what you managed to find on the way?"

Seeing no reason to decline, Ami nodded and fell in step beside him, her face parallel with the ground the entire time.

-----

"Benji! Where did the ball go?"

The little boy flinched dramatically at the sound of his most hated and vile nickname. His mother, who had a tendency to find most names possessing too many syllables for her to waste time pronouncing, had given him the nickname on a whim. Sadly, all of his brothers and friends had been within earshot at the time. As a result, he was forever saddled with the atrocious pseudonym.

"Benjiro!" he corrected, stamping his feet three times each just to drive the point home.

His brother rolled his eyes with great effort. "Yeah. Whatever. Where'd you throw the ball?"

After several moment, Benjiro pointed to an alleyway behind him rather sheepishly. His brother and three friends groaned, throwing their hands up and pacing as they had seen their parents do time and time again.

"You're the one who threw it, idiot."

"You better go get it, Benji!"

"Yeah, Dad'll kill you if you lose another ball."

"Go on! Get it!"

"Unless," his older brother stated with a cruel smile, "you're chicken."

Benjiro glanced back at the alley, which surely contained numerous witches and vampires just waiting to jump out and eat his brains. Of course, this fate was better than his associates referring to him as a chicken for the rest of the day. He was a young boy after all, and he had his pride. Being labeled a chicken was a fate far worse than death, and one that he would avoid at any cost. Even his brain.

"All right," he said, affecting as brave a posture as any seven year old could make. "I'll... I'll be right back. And if uh... If you hear any screaming, that's not me. That's someone else."

His playmates all looked quite dubious.

"Uh huh."

"Sure."

"Whatever you say, Benji."

"Just get the ball!"

"I'm going. I'm going," he insisted, walking into the alley. Seconds later, he stuck his head out again and added, "And it's Benjiro."

Benjiro ignored the chorus of insults that he could hear from his friends and turned back to face the dark alley. None of the witches and vampires were standing where he could see them of course. They would melt if they did anything like that. But he was sure they were waiting for him in the shadows. Therefore, he did everything humanly possible to remain in the patches of light that pierced the darkness.

He looked around, trying not to tremble. He was doing a fine job of it if he did say so himself. He only cried a little bit when a rat brushed up against his bare leg. But while he was sure he saw at least 76 zombies, 24 ghosts, and 1 werewolf, he didn't see any ball.

"Looking for this?"

Benjiro screamed, jumping several feet into the air. He went positively white and covered his face to avoid any suckers or claws from reaching out and grabbing him. When nothing happened, he peeked out from between his fingers, whimpering.

He was rather surprised to see a relatively normal looking man leaning casually against the brick wall. He was smiling at Benjiro, obviously amused. He didn't look like a vampire or anything else unpleasant, but then Benjiro had never seen one before, so that didn't actually mean much. Still, when he smiled he didn't see any fangs, which ruled out several ghouls. He was a boy, so he couldn't be a witch. He couldn't see through him, and he didn't see any limbs falling off. Benjiro thought it was safe to assume that this man was human and therefore trustworthy.

It was then that Benjiro saw what the man was holding. He brightened instantly and ran over to the man, taking the ball from him without ceremony. "My ball! You found it!" He hugged it to his chest and then remembered his manners. Or rather, he remembered what his mother would do to him if she found out that he hadn't remembered his manners. He bowed quickly just in case she was watching. "Thanks for finding my ball, mister!"

The man smiled down at him again, adjusting his sunglasses slightly. "Don't mention it. It was no problem whatsoever." He walked forward and knelt down so that he could look at Benjiro at his eye level. "But, since I gave you something, I was wondering if you might give me something in return."

Benjiro was confused by this logic, but since the man was now standing in the light which proved that this man was not anything to fear, he saw no problem with it. He shrugged in a manner that he knew from his grandmother's reaction was absolutely adorable and said, "Sure thing, mister."

The left corner of the man's mouth twisted upwards as he laid a hand on Benjiro's shoulder.

-----

Jadeite sauntered out of the alley, wiping his hand on his pants absently. It was a shame that he had to make physical contact with these humans to drain them one at a time. He didn't know when the last time they'd washed was. As he walked away from his latest victim, he passed by a group of boys all around the other one's age.

"Hey, your brother's been in there a really long time."

"Yeah... Say, you don't think he's... you know. Do you?"

"He's probably just playing a trick on us."

"He's not that smart!"

"Look, I think we should go check on him."

"Yeah. Your mom will totally kill you if he comes home with a skinned knee or something."

"All right. Benji! What's taking so long?"

With that, the four boys ran to where they had last seen their friend, pausing outside the eerie entryway, each too scared to go in first. Jadeite had to hold back the urge to laugh, watching them. Humans. So concerned with appearance that they would degrade their so-called friends and yet be too terrified themselves. In the Dark Kingdom they were bastards to each other because they were just genuinely unpleasant people. It made things much easier to deal with.

Jadeite had been wandering the streets of Tokyo for hours, happening upon random victims and draining them of their energy. There was some rumbling of a mysterious flu virus being whispered in the buses and on street corners, but not enough to garner any real attention. After all, there weren't that many of them yet.

He frowned. What Nephrite would consider his saving grace, Jadeite found most irritating. Under normal circumstances, Jadeite would have been more than willing to walk around for several more days and collect energy from one host or another. However, he could sense Beryl's growing impatience all the way from the Dark Kingdom. He didn't have much more time to waste on this folly. Besides, he couldn't very well expect Tuxedo Kamen or Sailor Mercury to appear because of a flu bug. No, he had to hit something big. He had to attract enough attention to bring them running, and then he would do what he'd been ordered to do -- save his hide by skinning theirs.

At that moment, Jadeite happened to round a corner where he saw a number of people walking into a building in groups of two or three at a time. He glanced up and saw that it was the local culture center. And if the marquee was true, they were holding a Beginner's archery class that day.

Jadeite pondered it for a moment and then shrugged. It was better than nothing.

-----

"Sorry I wasn't able to get anything more useful," Ami apologized for what must have been the fifth time that morning, scratching Luna's head idly.

Mamoru pinched the bridge of his nose discreetly. "Look, don't apologize. That's more than we knew about her before. And like you said, knowing her element is fire is very important. That means that at least one of the Senshi is bound to have offensive attacks."

"Which is what we need more than anything," Luna added, her voice garbled as she was cleaning her face in an attempt to mask the fact that she was talking. "I still can't imagine why you weren't able to get a look at the Sailor Venus file."

"Besides the fact that computers are evil," Mamoru added. "I think we should consider the possibility that the enemy actually invented them thirty odd years ago specifically to drive us to distraction today."

Ami, who had been looking rather depressed since he'd found her, cracked a slight smile at that. Mamoru grinned back at her, once again wondering in the back of his mind what was actually wrong with the girl. Of course, it really wasn't any of his affair. It wasn't as if they were close. After all, they were just trying to save the world together. That didn't make him privy to her innermost thoughts and dreams or anything.

"Oh, here we are," Ami said, somewhat surprised. Mamoru guessed that she hadn't noticed how close they were given how she'd been staring at the ground the entire way.

"Yup," Mamoru confirmed with a bit of a sigh. He looked over at Ami with a rueful expression and said, "Ready to begin training?"

Ami nodded, though she looked dubious. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The trio was about the enter the building when suddenly a very annoyed sounding voice clear her throat loudly, stopping them in their tracks. Before they could even turn around, a mezzo tone reached their ears, though obviously through gritted teeth.

"Excuse me. There are no animals allowed inside."

Luna meowed cutely in an attempt to garner sympathy.

Ami and Mamoru turned in one fluid movement and quickly realized that Luna's attempt would bear no fruit. They were met with a vengeful violet gaze and a girl around Ami's age. Her long, dark hair went almost all the way to her knees. She was already dressed in the traditional Kyudo attire, suggesting that she had attended this class before, meaning she knew what she was talking about.

The testy girl blinked when she got a good look at Mamoru and Ami. She straightened up, her hands hanging tensely at her side. Neither of them noticed anything out of the ordinary, but Luna couldn't help but think that she looked like those cowboys from those subtitled Westerns Mamoru watched late at night when nothing else was on. It was like she was ready to draw a gun and shoot them dead if they so much as twitched unnecessarily.

Mamoru held up his hands as if he was subconsciously picking up on this comparison. "Hey, it's all right. She'll behave. She's a very good cat."

Luna nodded and meowed again. Surely that would convince anyone of her innocence.

The girl stared at him for a moment, clearly surprised that he was actually trying to argue with her. Her glare became more intense, making Mamoru shift uncomfortably. "I told you! No cats!"

Ever disarming, Ami bowed deeply before a war began. "We're very sorry, Miss. We didn't know about that rule."

Ami glanced out of the corner of her eyes, looking at him expectantly. Mamoru didn't have much experience with women, but he knew that it was the universal look for, "Follow my lead or you are in SO much trouble." And while he very much doubted Ami would or could do much to make his life miserable, he reluctantly bowed alongside her to make things easier for all of them.

Ami craned her neck to look at Luna, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Luna. But you're going to have to wait out here until we're done, okay?"

Luna meowed, obviously irritated. Though she wasn't pleased with this turn of events, she dutifully hopped off Ami's shoulder and curled up on a bench next to the door, closing her eyes as if this didn't matter to her in the slightest.

Mamoru rolled his eyes and muttered, "That cat. A nap's the answer for everything."

Ami ignored him with ease and turned to look at the other girl, smiling pleasantly. "I'm guessing by your clothing that you're here for a Kyudo class. Are you taking the Beginner's course as well? That's where we're going."

The other girl seemed momentarily taken aback that she was being addressed, but covered up her hesitation easily enough. "Oh. Actually, I'm... Yes. Yes, that's what I'm here for."

Mamoru instantly reached for the door, pulling it open smoothly. "Then lead the way, Miss...?"

"Hino," she answered tersely, her gaze flitting back open to the cat pretending to be sleeping on the bench. "My name is Hino Rei."

"Nice to meet you," Ami continued, stepping through the doorway before Rei, who seemed to be staring intently at the slumbering feline. "I'm Mizuno Ami and this my... This is Chiba Mamoru."

Normally, Rei would have continued on with the awkward exchanging of names and meaningless pleasantries, but something else was occupying her mind at the moment. While most cats would have already been in dreamland by now, this cat had played possum while her owners were preoccupied. Now it was openly staring at her, looking at her with more intensity that a cat should have been able to.

Rei felt an all too familiar tingle shoot up her spine.

"Hino?" Mamoru interrupted, holding the door open with his fingertips as the lower half of his body threatened to continue on without her. "Are you coming?"

Rei looked at him and then back at the cat, who was back to pretending to sleep. She narrowed her gaze thoughtfully, but turned back to Mamoru and Ami with a cool look. Ami was entirely too serene for Rei's liking, smiling pleasantly and cooling the tense situation. On any other day, Rei would probably be turning on the charm with Mamoru, but he made her uneasy. They all made her uneasy and very glad she had picked up the wards this morning. "Yes. I'll take you to where you can sign in and pick up your uniforms."

As the three people entered the building, Luna stood up quickly, glaring after Rei's back. Though she had her suspicions about her, she couldn't be sure until she touched or at least got a closer look.

Luna leapt off the bench and ran around to the side of the building, searching for another way inside.

-----

Yuki often enjoyed thinking of himself as a stoic sort of man, not prone to being swayed by sudden tides of emotion. In reality, Yuki was the sort of boy who had a tendency to hop up and down at the prospect of being given an extra helping of dessert at dinnertime. He was excitable, cheerful, peppy, and not exceptionally popular as a result.

And so, the way in which he made his way to the culture center that day would have surprised no one who knew him. However, several unsuspecting passers by were, to say the least, stunned to see a sixteen year old boy practically skipping down the sidewalk. One woman covered her impressionable young daughter's eyes with her withering hand, shaking her head at the merry youth, sparing him no disapproval.

But even with his tendency to be so demonstrative, those who knew Yuki would have noted that he hopped just a little bit higher. And that was because after many long years of dreaming and wishing and hoping, Yuki was finally going to fulfill his life long dream. Long had he awaited this sweet day, and he was going to savor and enjoy every moment of it, propriety be damned.

He wasn't sure when his love of Kyudo had begun. Perhaps he had seen it in some long forgotten anime, leaving him with only vague impressions of this sole act as opposed to a devoted following of the series itself. But what he did know was that he had attended any exhibition for the Japanese art of archery possible.

He had quite literally spent years convincing his excitable, overprotective mother that it was perfectly safe, and no, he wasn't going to come home with an arrow sticking out of his head. She had forbidden him from doing it for years upon years upon decades upon eons, but at long last, he had worn her down. She'd paid the fee. She'd called in his size for the traditional robes, but she needn't have done that. Yuki had owned his own pair for several years. Granted, they were a bit big on him, but that was hardly an issue for him.

And so, it was with his head in the clouds and a song in his heart that Yuki rounded the very last corner to the culture center. He discreetly wiped away a tear of nigh orgasmic joy from his eye and made his way forward to fulfill his life long dream...

When he was pulled into the bushes.

Had anyone actually been paying attention to the hedge near the door, they would have noted that it had suddenly come to life and it was making the most painful sounding voices. Branches were crushed. Leaves were strewn about. And when it was all said and done, a man suddenly emerged from behind them, a twig rather comically sticking out of his ear.

Jadeite brushed himself off, rubbing his aching jaw and muttering to himself about lucky shots before entering the building as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

-----

Hino Rei led them to the check in area and then disappeared. Neither Ami nor Mamoru had any remote idea as to where she'd gone off to, and Mamoru had to say that he wasn't altogether interested to learn. They were about to get in line when a blond man cut in front of them. Being in a prickly mood, Mamoru nearly said something, but held his tongue when Ami subtly cleared her throat. Besides, he was a superhero now. They were supposed to be generous to a fault.

But that didn't change the fact that he was irritated.

They didn't have to wait in line long to get closer to the front. Finally, the man in front of them showed his ID to the girl at the desk. After she assessed it, he took it back, glancing at it quickly before he slipped it back into his wallet. He then leaned over and checked off his name.

As he was about to walk away, Mamoru tilted his head, puzzled. He reached out and stopped the blond man and said, "You certainly don't look fifteen, Saito-san."

Mamoru saw the man pale and look back down at the sheet. He swallowed and said, "Well, I... You see..."

The woman at the desk leaned over, looking at the sign up sheet. She then looked back up at Saito and said, "May I see your ID again, sir?"

Saito laughed nervously, fiddling with his clothes. "Well, I would be happy to. But... Umm..."

"Is there a problem, Saito-san?"

"No!" he insisted quickly. "No problem. Just--"

"Maybe it's a typographical error," Ami suggested softly, peering around Mamoru with a slight color to her cheeks. "Is it possibly supposed to say twenty-five?"

Saito stared at her for a moment before breaking into a painfully wide grin and pulling out his ID card again. "Yes!" he said happily. "Yes, that's exactly it! As the lady says, I am twenty-five years of age. It even says so on this ID card. See?"

The woman at the desk looked at it, and nodded quickly, satisfied. "Sorry about the mistake, sir. Go right on in."

"Thank you," Saito said smoothly, bowing deeply. As he straightened, his eyes flickered over to Mamoru, who had yet to look away from him. Neither regarded each other with any pleasure.

Without another word, Saito sauntered away, wiping sweat from his brow.

"A rather odd reaction for just a typo, wouldn't you say, Ami?" Mamoru asked softly as he dug out his wallet.

Ami stared at him for a moment and then looked after the man. She pursed her lips slightly and whispered, "I take it you'll be keeping an eye on him?"

"I'll be keeping two eyes on him."

-----

Jadeite heaved a great sigh as he entered the training room. That had been far too close a call. He'd completely forgotten about the age difference until that dark haired man had pointed it out. He'd almost made a mess of Jadeite's entire operation.

Of course, there was something to be said for a mere mortal throwing Jadeite off track so thoroughly by merely calling his age into question. He was a great warrior from the Dark Kingdom. Deep down, he knew that he was perfectly capable of handling such a situation. It was an easily rectifiable, minor speed bump, and he shouldn't have reacted like an inexperienced Private.

He should have come up with the explanation that timid child had offered up. That would have been infinitely better than standing there gaping and stuttering as if he were developmentally challenged.

Shaking his head, Jadeite deemed it best not to dwell on it anymore and focus on the task at hand. After all, he was here to collect energy from Queen Beryl to avoid being slaughtered. He needed to have his full attention on the situation, waiting until he was sure everyone was complacent, and then spring his trap.

Jadeite scanned the room for any possible troublemakers. Of course, he had a feeling those two from the check-in might be a bit more problematic than others. They were both sharp and observant. Definitely not good for his purposes. However, it seemed that just about every other person in the room would be far too wrapped up in themselves to notice anything out of the ordinary about him until it was too late.

Sweeping his eyes over the participants again, Jadeite stopped on a young girl. A very young girl. A very stunning young girl.

"Hello there," Jadeite whispered, smirking to himself. "What have we here?"

-----

"Are you positive you're not overreacting?" Ami said softly, watching Mamoru watch Saito.

Ami's attempts to dissuade him did little more than make him all the more attentive. Saito was currently chatting up the girl they had run into outside, and she seemed about as happy to see him as Luna. This changed Mamoru's opinion of her, though not drastically.

"Something about that guy is just not... right," Mamoru asserted again.

The younger girl turned to steal a quick glance in her direction, her eyes darting back and forth so quickly that Mamoru almost missed it. "I'll concede that his behavior outside was... strange. But maybe he's just shy."

Mamoru wondered if he and Ami were talking about the same person who was currently staring at Miss Hino Rei with a look that made him want to take a shower as soon as humanly possibly. "Doesn't look so shy to me."

Ami nodded, realizing her hypothesis was rather ridiculous. "All right then. I just think it's a little paranoid to automatically assume that every person one of us feels unsettled by is going to turn into a monster. It's highly improbable that he is one, because that would have us linked up with four out of four attacks before they even begin, which is just silly to even consider."

"I know that it's statistically improbable," Mamoru stressed. "But it isn't as if I attacked him outright. I'm just watching him. Nothing more."

Ami pursed her lips and looked back over at the pair. "Fine. Then I'll watch Hino."

Mamoru blinked. "You sense something I don't?"

Ami narrowed her eyes. "Not evil. Just... familiarity."

Mamoru turned his gaze briefly on Ami's intended target. He did this for a very little while, when she caught his gaze. Though Mamoru looked away instantly, he got the distinct impression that if she had possessed the power, she would have burned him with her gaze.

"You do that."

-----

Rei looked back at the blond man, who was giving her an even more unsettling feeling than the two she'd met at the door. Whereas before she just felt as if something were twisting her stomach in knots, now she wanted to flee, fight, scream, something. She felt darkness, and while she knew that she could just be projecting and overreacting from her vision, she couldn't help but feel very sorry that the only two handsome men in the room were probably evil.

She had rotten luck.

"You know," Saito said, unabashedly leering at her, "I was actually placed in the wrong class. I'm quite good at Kyudo, if I do say so myself." Boldly, Saito reached out to cup her chin, arching his left eyebrow in what usually must have been rather alluring. "If you'd like me to show you the ropes..."

Rei took a very large step back, smirking primly. "How kind of you," she remarked coldly. "But perhaps you ought to leave that to me."

Clearly confused by her words, Saito did not immediately respond. Rei took this opportunity to bend down and gather up her bow and arrow. After ensuring she had proper footing and good posture, she lifted the bow over her head to aim, looking at the target through half closed eyes. She pulled the string taut, aiming right between the pair she had run into outside. They both turned to look at her in shock just as she released the arrow, letting it fly right between them. It nearly grazed the man's nose, but that had been her intention anyway. Everyone turned to watch as the arrow imbedded itself into the exact center of the target.

There was silence as Rei lowered her bow, quickly followed by a smattering of applause. She turned to catch a glimpse of Saito's face, expecting him to be shocked into silence. She was quite vexed to note that he seemed intrigued at best.

Scoffing, Rei decided to forget about him for the time being. Instead, she turned to address the rest of the class, forcing herself to look helpful and inviting.

"Welcome, everyone, to today's beginner's class for Kyudo, the way of the bow. My name is Hino Rei, and I'll be teaching you for today. The normal instructor, Watanabe Jiro, has fallen ill and asked me to take over. I ask that everyone please pair up so the lesson can begin. Since we have an uneven number of students this morning, would anyone be willing to pair up with me for--"

"I'll do it, Hino-sensei!" Ami chirped instantly, thrusting her hand into the air boldly. It seemed most of Ami's reserve dissipated when it came to a classroom setting. Still, when several other students turned to stare at the girl who had been so brazen, Ami bent her arm reluctantly. "If that's all right with you that is."

Rei narrowed her eyes at the blue-haired girl and her companion. They had unsettled her on sight, and the more she looked at them, the more she felt ill at ease. Perhaps it would be best if she was able to keep tabs on at least one of them.

Rei softened her gaze, smiling once again and nodded. "Of course... Mizuno-san. That will work perfectly." She clapped her hands and raised her voice, projecting authority. "All right! Everyone else pair up!"

-----

"You're not doing it right."

That same vein on Mamoru's neck popped out as soon as his partner's lilting voice hit his ear. Thanks to Ami's eagerness to keep on eye on Hino, Mamoru had wound up stuck with the strange man from earlier. He had wanted to watch him, but not quite this closely. Nor had he ever wanted to speak with him.

"I am doing what Hino-sensei instructed. Now, if you don't mind of course, could you possibly let me concentrate on what I'm doing?"

Saito held up his hands, effecting pacifism. "Fine. Fine. You won't hear another word out of me."

"Thank you," Mamoru snapped without gratitude. Turning back to the target, Mamoru placed his feet a little wider than shoulder's width apart, rocking back and forth in an attempt to find his balance. He pulled himself up to his full height, and went through the rest of the motions that Hino had taught them. Ensuring that his hands were positioned accordingly, he took aim and fired the arrow. He did better than most had on the first try, missing the center by only four inches. However, his moment of happiness was quickly squashed.

"You drift to the left. Did you know?"

Mamoru fumed. "I was aware."

"Just making sure," Saito chirped brightly, taking Mamoru's place in front of the target. Neglecting to partake in many of the necessary steps, Saito drew the string of his bow back and released his arrow. In a move clearly meant to further aggravate Mamoru, Saito's arrow split Mamoru's in two.

Mamoru glared at this partner, folding his arms across his chest. "You didn't do any of the necessary preparation for firing your arrow."

Saito shrugged. "I didn't need to."

This did not compute in Mamoru's brain. "But the process is the whole point to the Way of the Bow. It's disrespectful to simply disregard it because you can hit the target."

Saito laughed derisively, looking at Mamoru out of the corner of his eye. "And what would you do if you had to fire a bow and arrow in battle for, boy? If you took the time to go through "the necessary steps," you'd be dead before you took aim. All that matters is the end result."

"So, the ends justify the means?" Mamoru quipped. "That's a very jaded view."

"And yours is clearly that of a childish idealist," Saito said smartly. "Boy."

Mamoru glared at this man with all of the passion he could muster, praying that he was an enemy so that he could wring his neck without guilt.

-----

Meanwhile, having caught sight of an open window on an upper floor, Luna had decided to attempt to scale a tree in order to reach it. Being a cat, this should not have been very difficult. After all, she had natural climbing ability, claws, and particularly strong leg muscles. Climbing a large tree should have been a fairly simple task.

The first time Luna attempted her ascension, she miscalculated the first jump enough to go smashing head first into a particularly hefty tree branch. She was then momentarily distracted by the gaggle of birds circling her head, marveling at their vast array of colors.

Once that ceased, Luna decided there was nothing left to do but try again. Crouching down as far as her haunches would allow, Luna pushed off the ground with more vigor, landing on the branch with ease. With newfound confidence, Luna scaled the tree at a faster rate, hopping from branch to branch...

Only to find that one of them could not support her weight and went crashing down to the bottom again.

Once there, Luna scowled at the tree with as much hatred as she could encapsulate within her tiny frame. She paced back and forth, swishing her tail this way and that, thinking this through logically as was her prerogative. If there was any hope in making it to the open window, she was going to have to go slow. She was going to have to not act like a certain other feline she knew.

Putting that thought out of mind, Luna once again made her way up the tree, ensuring that she had ample footing on one branch before leaping to another secure limb. This went on for several minutes until she was level with the open window. Then, creeping along the precariously thin limb, Luna bent back to make a giant leap...

...when she heard voices down below.

"Hurry up you three!"

Luna peered down to see a family of four making their way into the cultural center. The patriarch was holding the door open for his wife, who was with child and carrying another rather heavy toddler, and his pre-adolescent son, who was hobbling along on crutches.

"I don't have all day to hold open this door, you know," he reminded them as they slowly made their way through the opening.

Seeing this golden opportunity missed, Luna could only think of one thing to say.

"Oh... hell."

-----

"Remember that when you aim you want to keep both eyes open." Rei said, glancing over at Ami who was hurriedly scribbling something down in a notebook. Thus far, Rei had not noticed anything overtly suspicious about her. She was a mousey, quiet girl, but she seemed bright and nice enough. And, she didn't feel anything sinister when she was around her. Although, Rei was certain that there was some sort of dark presence in the room. She had narrowed it down to two men: Chiba Mamoru and Saito Yuki. She was almost positive it was the latter, but she had not been paying close enough attention to him during their earlier interaction. She hoped it would not prove to be a costly mistake.

Though what the price would have been, she didn't know.

"And keep in mind that you need to keep a steady wrist, but don't lock it. You might hurt yourself."

Nodding absently, Ami continued to scribble something in her notebook, blue eyes flying across the page, barely lagging behind her pencil.

Standing on tiptoes, Rei attempted to see just what Ami could possible be writing down. The girl had been taking copious notes while Rei was explaining this the first time. Of course, in Rei's opinion, the girl could write all she wanted to. What mattered was the application of what Rei was telling her. She highly doubted that Ami would have any luck in the art of Kyudo.

"You know, I am here to help you," Rei said testily when Ami self-consciously pulled her notebook away. "Feel free to ask for help. And don't feel bad if you don't get it on the first try. I... Well, I was a natural at this actually, but not everyone has--"

Before Rei could finish that sentiment, Ami suddenly dropped the notebook, respectfully taking up the yumi. Mimicking Rei's movements with nearly perfect precision, Ami drew the string backward and let the arrow lose, hitting the target just barely off center.

Rei stood there gaping in absolute disbelief. After a moment, she managed to clear her head and said, "Good job."

Ami didn't seem nearly as pleased with herself as most people would have been, tightening the muscles in her face in thought. "I knew I shouldn't have rounded up so quickly, but I was running out of space on the paper."

"Rounded?" Rei repeated, dumbfounded. She must have heard incorrectly. There was no conceivable way that this girl had actually taken this that seriously.

Determined to know the truth, Rei bent over and snatched up the notebook, turning it over to see the page Ami had been writing on. Her eyes nearly went cross eyed as she saw the white lined paper stained nearly solid blue from Ami's tidy work. The temporary instructor found herself at a loss at what half of the symbols meant, but she knew a math problem when she saw one.

Rei twitched. "You're unbelievable, Mizuno-san."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

-----

For the next hour, Rei continued to instruct the class on the proper ways to perform Kyudo. Assured that Ami needed very little of her guidance, Rei felt no qualms in going around to each group and offering individual instruction (as well as mediation in the case of Mamoru and Yuki). Feeling hungry, Rei glanced down at her wristwatch. "It's a little past noon," she observed to herself.

Clapping her hands, she got everyone's attention towards the front of the room. "Excellent job thus far, everyone!" Rei praised happily. "This is one of the best groups I have ever had the honor of assisting with. Let's take a half an hour for lunch, and then return and finish up your lesson."

This seemed like a nice plan to the others, and several seemed grateful for the respite. Rubbing her arms slightly, Ami wandered over to Mamoru and whispered, "Any luck?"

"Aside from being reassured that Saito-san is a disrespectful jerk?" Mamoru groused irritably, paying no mind to the fact that the man in question was no less than three feet away. "No. You?"

Ami shook her head. "I couldn't keep as close an eye on her as I wanted to though. It could be that I'm just overreacting. It's entirely possible that I have met her before."

Mamoru nodded slightly. "Even so, you know as well as I do that it's better to-- Wait a minute." Mamoru looked around, missing the tow-headed man he had had the misfortune of working with. "Where did Saito-san--"

"I'm afraid," began a lilting voice from the front of the room, "that lunch is going to be canceled for the day."

A confused murmur arose from the group as Mamoru and Ami simultaneously turned to the door at the back of the practice room. There was Saito Yuki, who had somehow managed to move from Mamoru's side to the door without him noticing. Instantly suspicious, the two wordlessly began advancing to the back, taking care to hide themselves in the crowd and not draw attention to themselves.

Rei wasn't nearly as subtle.

"Just who do you think you are, Saito-san?" she demanded loudly, stalking towards him like an angry housewife. "You have been nothing but trouble since you arrived! Arrogant manners, picking fights with your partner, and completely disregarding my instruction in Kyudo. Did you come here just to make a nuisance of yourself?" She paused, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Or do you have another purpose."

Saito smirked, chuckling slightly. "It seems you're as observant as I thought you were. Perhaps I should have kept a closer eye on you." His eyes ran over her in a manner that she probably would have killed him for were there not so many witnesses. "You are a captivating woman, Hino-san. It is truly a shame that we have met in this fashion."

Just as Mamoru and Ami reached Rei's side, Saito Yuki gripped the corner of his robes and flung them off. Ami instantly covered her eyes modestly, only peaking out when she sensed only confusion, not shock and disgust.

Saito was most assuredly not Saito anymore, if he had ever been. Now clad in a slate grey uniform and black boots reminiscent of Nazi Germany, he was all at once an intimidating figure. He no longer blended into the masses or seemed at all ordinary. Of course, the most striking thing about his new appearance was his eyes, colder than the chill of Siberia in December.

Though Rei and Ami were nonplussed, Mamoru was taken aback by the sight of this man, or, more to the point, his clothing.

"I know that uniform," he whispered in dread.

Ami blinked, turning to him in alarm. "What?"

He never got a chance to respond. At that precise moment, "Saito" flung his hand into the air, shouting something that sounded like it could have possibly been a word in a very rough, very old language. At his call, a shining sphere made up of swirling, pulsing light hovered above his palm. Without waiting for so much as a second to pass, he cried out again, causing jets of icy light to shoot out of the sphere, each heading to a different person in the room.

Glancing back at Ami and Mamoru, Rei did what felt natural. She pulled out three of the four ofunda that she had taken from the shrine that morning and flung them out at the light heading in their path, shouting, "Aku Ryo... Tai Sen!"

The ofunda absorbed the attacks, stiffening as the light impacted with the paper. Once completed, the ofunda fell to the ground like leaden weights, gravity pulling them down where they could do no more harm.

Ami amd Mamoru looked on, momentarily impressed, until they looked at what was going on around them. Though some tried to flee, the beams caught up with them all, young and old alike. Their entire frame went rigid when the light hit them, causing their bodies to shudder and glow for a moment. As soon as that subsided, their muscles seemed to melt away as they collapsed, mouths slack and skin turned a sickly grey.

Rei gasped in horror, staring around at the wreckage around her. "Oh, my God. What happened to them!"

"Their energy," Ami whispered in what might have been feigned disbelief. "It's been drained away!"

Rei knew that her temper was legendary. It was known of far and wide. She saw the little school children that passed, whispering cruelly about the witch on Sendai Hill who will burn you with her eyes. And she did have a tendency to get angry. She was angry when her grandfather teased her to the edge of her patience. She was angry that her mother was dead. Sometimes she was angry that her father wasn't.

But she had never been more angry than in that precise moment.

Clenching her fist and screwing her eyes shut, Rei hissed, "How dare you..." She took a deep breath and looked directly at this new enemy, violet eyes blazing. "How dare you! Pretending to be... to be human just to come in here and wreak all this havoc. You are an insult to humanity." Rei snarled and plucked her last ofunda scroll from out of her robes. "I won't let you get away with it!"

Without any more hesitation, Rei surged forward, ignoring Mamoru and Ami's cries for her to stop. Drawing the paper back, she prepared to use the ward on him, banishing him back to where it was he had come from.

"Aku Ryo... Tai--"

"Bored now," Jadeite said cutely, holding out a flattened palm in the path of Rei's advancement. A darker light shot out of his hand this time, meant to do far more harm than anything previously. Rei shrieked as it struck her directly in the chest, sending her hurtling backwards several feet. She slammed into Mamoru, who was unable to stay upright under the sudden weight.

"Hino-sensei!" Ami cried in fear, taking note of Rei's slack arms. "Mamoru, is she--"

"Unconscious," he finished as soon as he finished taking her pulse. He looked back up at Jadeite, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Who are you to attack a defenseless woman?"

The soldier laughed, throwing his head back and emitting a single bark. "Defenseless? That one? Mark my words, boy, you're holding human fire in your hands."

Ami straightened, turning back to stare at the fallen Kyudo instructor. Several things arranged themselves in her mind to form what might have been a clear picture of something. She remembered the sense of familiarity she had felt upon meeting Hino Rei, how well the red robes and purple physical accents suited her, and the fire she could feel burning within her even as she lay unconscious. They formed a possible explanation that was all too convenient for Ami to hope for, yet she let her heart lift, daring it to be true.

"Could it be?" Ami whispered softly. "Is she..."

"You didn't answer my question," Mamoru ground out, having missed Ami's possible epiphany as he struggled to get to his feet with Rei. "Who are you?"

The man seemed amused by Mamoru's query and obliged him for that reason alone. "My name is Jadeite, one of the elite Shitennou of the Dark Kingdom. I am the second Dark King, sent here to ensure that our world comes to power once again. I would tell you to remember me. However..."

Jadeite snapped his fingers, causing a pitch black hole to form at his right. Moments later, a tall, wiry youma stepped out. Covered in course fur of red and gold and tawdry bits of leather, it possessed an animal-like quality. With spikes rising from its shoulders and three horns topping its head, Ami now allowed herself to pray that her hunch was right.

"However, I don't think you'll be around much later to do so," Jadeite said brightly. "What better way to attract superheroes than to kill off three innocent civilians? Love to stay and watch the gore, but I have to deliver my prize to the Dark Kingdom. Have a horrible life while it lasts."

With that, Jadeite vanished into the portal he had created, closing it off behind him.

Setting Rei down as gently as he could, Mamoru spoke to Ami out of the corner of his mouth as he watched the youma stretch out its muscles. It clearly saw no problem in allowing them some time to think. "So... He came here for us?"

"Looks that way," Ami muttered back. "I suppose his superior isn't pleased with his performance. Listen, Mamoru--"

"No, I don't suppose they would be," Mamoru said with a satisfied smile, having completely missed the fact that Ami had anything more to say. "I wonder if he has a parrot that harasses him or something, because that would be hilarious."

Ami didn't find this nearly as amusing as some of his other comments. "Forget about that. Mamoru, there's something I have to--"

"What is this I hear?" the youma rumbled in an impossibly low voice for its thin frame. "You two are the duo I am meant to destroy?"

"Seems that way," Mamoru said with an ironic grin. He extended his right arm to its full length, punching his thumb and forefinger together. Mimicking a twirl of his cape, it soon formed there, wrapping him up in the world's only comfortable tuxedo. "I am Tuxedo Kamen."

There was a brief flash of blue at his side, and suddenly Ami had become Sailor Mercury, placing herself between the youma and Rei. "And I am Sailor Mercury."

The youma bowed mockingly. "The children of the darkness need no introduction. They need only death." Leaning forward, the demon crossed its arms across its chest, grasping on to the two very large spikes protruding from its shoulders. It gave a rough yank, pulling them from its flesh with noises that made Mercury's stomach turn. Moments later, it was holding two deadly sabers in its hands, dripping with its own bodily fluids as the new wounds on its shoulders mended instantaneously. It grinned. "And just so we're clear, by death, I mean yours."

Tuxedo Kamen scoffed, arching his eyebrow in challenge. "And people tell me my speeches are bad."

Were Mercury a more cynical girl, she would have probably reiterated that they were quite bad, effectively stealing his thunder. As it was, she was primarily concerned that he was becoming arrogant. She laid a hand on his shoulder, bidding him to come down to her level. "Don't be foolish. I have no desire to fly solo."

"As far as we know, I'm the only one who can come close to flying," Tuxedo Kamen muttered, resisting the urge to chuckle at his own joke as he knew it was unbecoming. "You take the right, I'll take the left."

Ignoring his poor attempt at humor, Mercury glanced down at Rei. "But what about--"

"Keep it away from her by killing it," Tuxedo Kamen suggested, dashing off.

Sailor Mercury felt very motherly when she said, "Yes, because that's so helpful." Still, lacking in alternatives, she followed his advice.

As Tuxedo Kamen was the warrior among them who possessed anything remotely resembling a sword with his cane, Mercury rightfully assumed that he would likely be doing most of the fighting. He ran at the monster, keeping low so that he would be ready to block a blow from above. This proved to be incredibly stupid when it attacked from both sides - below and above. Tuxedo Kamen could block one, but would end up being filleted by another.

Thinking and moving quickly, Mercury lashed out at the youma's right hand with a vicious kick. Thankfully, this was the sword that had been involved in the downward swoop - the one Tuxedo Kamen had not been prepared for. The youma dropped the blade and responded to Mercury's attack quickly. It brought up a curled fist faster than Mercury could blink, catching her in the jaw and sending her reeling.

"Ami!" Tuxedo Kamen shouted without thinking, deciding it probably didn't matter at this point. He gritted his teeth and continued to block the youma's other sword. Although he knew it would place him at a precarious balance, Tuxedo Kamen stuck his foot out and kicked the other saber towards the blue soldier just before the youma laid hands on it.

It growled at him irritably, but bore down on him, gripping the sword with both hands. The demon clearly had the advantage in terms of strength. Tuxedo Kamen grunted with the effort just to keep both of his arms from being broken. Still, he spared enough energy to check on Mercury. Her lip was bleeding, but at least she was conscious.

He nearly shouted to her about the sword, but there was no need. The moment her mind cleared enough to see it, she scooped it up in her left hand. She only briefly considered her actions before leaping to her feet and rushing at the monster from behind, somehow remaining silent despite her high-heeled boots.

Tuxedo Kamen wondered where she'd gotten the practice.

It was with eerie silence that Mercury struck at the youma's back, slicing at its fur with vicious calm. It groaned loudly, instinctively dropping its other sword in pained panic. Tuxedo Kamen took the opportunity to land a few good punches,  
momentarily abandoning his cane.

Not put off by the sight of inhuman blood, Mercury spun around in order to attempt to attack again. This time, the youma was able to see her coming and caught up both her wrists in one of its unbelievably large hands. It lifted Mercury up and tossed her away, plucking its sword out of her hands as she flew off. She crashed into the wall, impacting her left shoulder and slumping down to the ground.

Distracted again by the welfare of his partner, Tuxedo Kamen took a split second too long to turn his attention back to the youma. It punched kicked him in the chest with the nonchalance of an old woman at a school picnic, sending him careening into Mercury. Landing on top of her did not seem to improve her condition in the slightest.

"Are you all right?" Tuxedo Kamen wheezed, struggling to get to his feet.

Sailor Mercury very honestly said, "No. And for future reference, I suggest that next time we have a better strategy than, 'you go this way, and I'll go the other.' Just a thought."

Tuxedo Kamen laughed mirthlessly. Apparently she got moxy when she was in pain. And judging by the way she was moaning, she must have been in a lot of it.

It was at precisely this moment that Tuxedo Kamen realized that first of all, Mercury's mouth wasn't open. Secondly, the moaning was coming from an entirely different part of the room. And third, that meant nothing good.

He frantically looked over to where Rei was lying, watching as she moved her head cautiously, regaining consciousness. He swore viciously and launched himself forward to get to her, feeling an extreme sense of urgency at that point in time.

Unfortunately, the demon also seemed to have an advantage in terms of speed. It picked up its other sword, and nearly flew over to where Rei lay. Wrapping an elbow around her neck, it hauled her up to her feet, much to her displeasure. Its grip on her seemed impossibly tight, nearly cutting off her airway. it was enough to completely bring her around.

"What is going on?" she muttered, probably not meaning to say that aloud. She laid her pale hands on the youma's colorful fur, craning her neck to look at her captor. The monster leered back at her, devilish teeth glinting under the fluorescent lights. And while the two warriors didn't doubt she was normally cool under pressure, they would have thought something was extremely wrong with her if she had not shrieked in utter terror.

Tuxedo held up his hands in as placating a manner as he could muster. Forgetting her present injuries, Mercury scrambled to her feet and joined his side, face pale and eyes wide with fear. Tuxedo Kamen swallowed the lump in his throat and said, "Easy. Easy now. She's got nothing to do with this. Don't get her involved."

"Please, just let her go!" Mercury begged, either appealing to the monster's nonexistent moral sensibilities or just saying something to keep from going mad.

The youma looked between the two soldiers and its prey and chuckled. "Yes, I think this shall do nicely." It sheathed one of its swords, saying, "I have a theory. Tell me what you think of it. You two do-gooders will do anything in order to save the innocent public from being drained, maimed, or otherwise harmed from the slaves to the dark. You'd probably even die for it. Am I right?"

Neither Sailor Mercury nor Tuxedo Kamen responded. They both merely narrowed their eyes, instinctively assuming a more offensive stance in the face of this new horror.

The demon clearly took this as an affirmative. "Thought as much. So, even though you don't know this girl, you'd die for her. Unfortunately, she's my prisoner, and I do so enjoy twisting the necks of pretty little girls."

Rei looked as if she desperately wished she were still unconscious.

"So, let us say that I will let the girl go if you two will stop moving around so much." The monster's tone made it clear that it wasn't expecting them to cease dancing around in order to get a better look at their attire.

Sailor Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen exchanged a glance. His face resolute as stone and hers as broken as glass, neither one of them knew what to do. They didn't know how they could effectively deal with a hostage situation when they were in no position to negotiate. They could attack, but Rei would no doubt be dead before they could cause any real damage. And even if Mercury suddenly realized that she was fully capable of offering up a real offensive, there was absolutely no guarantee that she wouldn't hit Rei.

They were in a much worse position than between a rock and a hard place.

Now Rei, terrified though she may be, had never pictured herself as the damsel in distress. She'd always abhorred the fairy tales of old her caretakers had told her in her youth. What good was a princess if she was always getting carried off by some ogre or another? How could she rule her people if she kept getting captured and then did nothing but wait to be rescued? That, in Rei's opinion, was no princess deserving of the throne.

And while she knew that she couldn't escape this monster's deadly hold, she could certainly stop these two warriors from doing something very foolish.

"I don't know who you are," Rei snapped viciously, looking Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Mercury square in the eye. "But I have heard of you. You're the new defenders of Tokyo. You're our only line of defense against all of these famed attacks. True, you can save me by giving up your lives. But then what will you do when you're dead and this youma comes after me? Or after the children you saw playing in the street? Your own families?

"I can't tell you what to do, but I'll tell you this. If you needlessly spill one drop of blood for my safety... I will never forgive you!"

The last was a strangled scream as Rei's emotions got the best of her. She trembled with rage in the monster's arms, glaring at the two soldiers hotly. Her brows knit together so intensely, she was scarcely surprised when a sharp, burning pain erupted onto her forehead. It felt like she was being stabbed with a hot poker or something along those lines. She couldn't help but hiss, shutting her eyes instinctively.

Sailor Mercury paled but her voice brightened. "Oh, my God. I was right!"

The youma looked down at the young woman in fear, eyes widening. "No. No, it can't be. But... Lord Jadeite said. Oh, damn!" Without warning, the youma pushed Rei away from it as if it had been holding onto fire, sending her flying into Mercury, who caught her with some degree of difficulty. It was clearly alarmed and wanted nothing more than to distance itself from a new warrior.

"Sailor Mars..." it hissed, backing away. "I recognize the symbol. I remember that one. The stories... Roasting flesh and flying ash. No. No, I've heard the tales. The memories of the old ones. I won't let that one awaken." With a snarl, it hurled itself towards Mercury and the awakening soldier.

Without a second thought, Tuxedo Kamen threw himself between the monster and the two girls.

"Then you go through me first."

-----

"I was right," Mercury repeated, helping Rei to her feet. Of course, Ami was used to being right on tests and things and she had fairly good intuition, but it had seemed far too fantastic to be true. Then again, she supposed she had better get used to fantastic things soon. "You are... I never thought it... You are! You really are the next one!"

"The next what?" Rei asked irritably, clutching her still glowing forehead. "What are you all babbling about? And why does it feel like someone is driving a thousand matches into my skin?"

Mercury supposed that without Luna, she was going to have to explain. "You said that you knew who we were, right? Well... It seems that you're one of us."

Rei looked up at her dubiously. "You have got to be kidding me."

"No," Mercury said softly. "I wish I was. I mean, I wish that we didn't have to exist at all. That is..." She decided to abandon this line of explanation. "The point is, you're one of us. Mars, if I remember my astronomy correctly and that monster's babbling meant anything."

"Let me get this straight," Rei groused, looking none too pleased with this development. "I'm another short skirted warrior with a tiara on my head? I'm supposed to... help you? Defend Tokyo? Save the world?"

Mercury nodded haplessly. "Something like that."

Rei was less than receptive to this idea. "I don't believe this. And I really mean that I absolutely refuse to believe this is happening. And have I mentioned that my head is killing me?"

"That only stops when you transform," Mercury explained, feeling rather foolish. This did sound rather silly.

Rei sighed. "All right. I'll play along. How do I manage that?"

Mercury looked around, hoping that Luna had magically appeared. Of course, she hadn't. She probably didn't even realize that anything was wrong. And now she was all alone with a new Senshi and Mamoru was fighting the monster all by himself. For once, she didn't know what to do.

She heard a sickening crunch and whirled to look back on the fight going on in their midst. Tuxedo Kamen's hat had long been abandoned, but his mask miraculously stayed on. His cape was torn and there was a hole in his pants, but that was the least of his problems. He was covered in his own blood, and she could tell that his left eye was blackened severely. The crunch must have been the sound of his arm breaking, which now hung uselessly at his side.

"Oh, God," Mercury whispered, wishing suddenly that she was more faithful so that she could at least expect some sort of answer. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Why don't you help him?" Rei demanded tersely. "He can't handle that monster on his own. No one could. Forget about me. Help him!"

"What can I do?" Mercury asked miserably. "I don't have any damaging attacks. All I can do is cast fog. Your element is fire, and that should be helpful. But we can't awaken you without Luna, and I don't know where she is. I'm not strong enough to help him... I need Luna! I need Luna to get your henshin pen now! I can't--"

Sailor Mercury stopped, something dawning on her. She suddenly remembered Luna's words from earlier. About how she envisioned the weapons and instruments they used as being stored in some warehouse somewhere. A warehouse where they could also keep records that she had accessed on her computer. Records previously denied her.

Mercury whipped out her computer, quickly racing through the various menus and safeguards she was slowly becoming familiar with. She made her way back to the Senshi Files and clicked on the one labeled SAILOR MARS.

"Please work, please work, please, please work!"

Mercury nearly leapt for joy when the screen popped up.

SOLDIER: SAILOR MARS  
CIVILIAN IDENTITY: HINO REI  
RANKING: SECOND IN COMMAND  
PRIMARY FUNCTION: GUARDIAN TO THE PRINCESS  
LOCATION: TOKYO, JUUBAN AREA, SENDAI HILL, HIKAWA JINJA  
AGE: 14  
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: ARIES  
HEIGHT: 5'3'  
WEIGHT: RESTRICTED  
BLOOD TYPE: A  
ELEMENT: FIRE  
UNIFORM: RED, PURPLE  
STRENGTHS: UNKNOWN  
WEAKNESSES: UNKOWN  
POWERS: DISPELING SPIRITS (AKU RYO TAI SAN)  
FIRE SOUL

-- SOLDIER NOT YET ACTIVATED --

CLICK HERE TO ACTIVATE

Mercury blinked. "It can't possibly be that simple. I do think that this computer must be a combination of technology and magic if it truly was in existence so long ago. So, it would stand to reason that I'd be able to access that reserve... But there is no way it could be that simple."

Her throat constricted painfully when she heard Tuxedo Kamen cry out.

"Please be that simple," Mercury whispered desperately, clicking that button with ferocity.

The symbol on the lid of the computer pulsed blue three times before flashing red, like an eruption of color. Crimson hued light poured out from the center, a solid object forming out of the light that pooled in front of her. It took shape, resembling the pen that she herself carried. She breathed a sigh of relief when a pen of red and gold clattered to the ground without ceremony.

Still holding her forehead, Rei narrowed her eyes and instantly reached out for the pen, examining it closely. "This..." she whispered. "I know this. Not from a vision, but... All the same, I know this."

"I know," Mercury said softly, her tone gentle even if her words were rushed. "I felt the same way. You are Sailor Mars, whether you like it or not. And you just have to help us. We're... We're not strong enough, the two of us. I just know that you are stronger than both of us. We need your help, Hino-san. Please, please help us."

Rei never took her eyes off of the henshin pen as she got to her feet. "I still think you're insane. Just so we're clear. But... I guess I have to try if you won't."

Mercury couldn't look her in the eye anymore even though she deserved it.

"What do I do?"

------

Things were not going at all well for Tuxedo Kamen. In fact, things were going spectacularly bad. He often frowned upon medical students who partook in self-diagnosis, but it didn't take a man with a degree to tell him that his shoulder was dislocated. Badly. And it didn't take a doctor to tell him that he'd probably bruised a few ribs and that he was bound to have some nasty cuts were he a normal human being. The blood and bone told him well enough.

Part of him was annoyed that Ami hadn't jumped in, but he realized it was madness to ask for such a thing to happen. She still lacked a great deal of self-confidence. Not to mention, if he was getting trounced, she certainly wasn't going to be much help. And if Rei was in fact Sailor Mars, who he already knew was meant to wield fire, Mercury was really better off standing back and trying to do... whatever it was she was trying to do. After all, it wasn't as if he could really spare his attention right at the moment to be sure of what was going on.

He was currently leaning against a wall, clutching his useless arm and trying to catch his breath. He had miraculously managed to avoid being filleted, but he knew that wasn't going to last much longer without aid. The youma was leering at him, preparing to strike again.

"You're all so pathetic," it hissed. "The Senshi won't even fight. The new one can't awaken. And you... you no-name that one remembers, is going to die and leave the women to fend for themselves." The demon laughed, its fur momentarily standing on end before settling back down. "And to think there are still monsters who fear the once great Sailor Senshi."

"Maybe you should start again."

Tuxedo Kamen looked up, smiling broadly when he saw Rei standing next to Sailor Mercury. Her look was murderous, her stance proud, but he was really concerned with what was in her hand. He didn't know how she'd managed it, but Mercury had gotten hold of the Martian henshin pen.

"Way to go, Ami," he muttered, taking another deep breath.

"What is that?" the youma asked, panicking. "What's in your hand?"

Rei's expression didn't change. "Let's find out, shall we? MARS POWER, MAKE-UP!"

The room filled with red light and heat as streams of fire poured out of the pen that Rei held in her hand. She spun around as rings of fire surrounded her. The others were uncomfortable being in the same room as the magic flames, but Rei didn't seem remotely phased by it. A flash of light, and suddenly it was Sailor Mars standing there in red high heels and a sassy expression.

"Filthy youma!" Mars shouted, glaring murderously. "How dare you invade this planet and try and kill those trying to protect it! Disrespectful. In the name of the planet Mars, I'm the Senshi of Fire, and I'll chastise you!"

Now the monster looked nervous. It snarled, tightening its grip on its blades. "Enough of this folly. I won't be another victim of the Red Senshi. Die!"

Acting purely on instinct, Tuxedo Kamen threw another rose at the monster, slicing across its knuckles. It temporarily dropped one of its weapons, giving Tuxedo Kamen enough time to push himself off the wall and launch a vicious punch at the demon with his good hand.

Mars stepped forward, looking over at Mercury. "You seem to have all the ideas around here. What should we do?"

Mercury pondered this matter quickly, happy to be useful. She wasn't sure if Mars's attack alone would be enough to kill the monster. It would be weak on her first try, and Tuxedo Kamen didn't have enough time to wait for her to fire off another shot. Then she saw the bow and arrow lying on the ground. She gathered it up as fast as she could, going through the assigned motions as quickly as she could. She took aim.

"Light it!" Mercury shouted, letting the arrow fly.

Without taking the time to ask why, Mars instinctively drove her two forefingers together. A spark lit instantly and flames filled the air, shooting directly towards the arrow with her cry. "FIRE SOUL!"

This time, Mercury's aim was impeccable. The youma turned around just in time to see the flaming arrow spinning towards it, heading right for the middle of its forehead.

It hit dead on, and the monster shrieked even as its brain was impaled. Unlike the first arrow, it seemed to have an effect on the youma. The fire spread throughout its body quickly, bits of dust and ash falling to the ground for what felt to Sailor Mars like hours. The scream went on and on until finally the head burned up and fell, scattered on the floor.

The three warriors stood there for a moment, all panting heavily even if they had not been running around. Tuxedo Kamen groaned slightly and his knees buckled. Mercury dashed forward, catching him before he hit the ground and propping him up as best as she could given their disparity in heights. Mars remained still, staring at her hands and looking for burn marks that weren't there, shaking and awestruck and terrified and utterly alive.

A few moments later, Luna dashed in, covered in more than a few twigs and leaves as well as a few scrapes. She looked around at the pile of dust in the middle of the room, the victims of the attack strewn about the room, the two warriors she knew, and the one she didn't. She frowned, her whiskers twitching.

"I think I missed something."

-----

"I am impressed, Lord Jadeite." Beryl addressed all of her subjects in the same rich, impersonal tone of voice from her dais. However, while she was more often than not displeased with something, she seemed pleased at least for the moment. And for that, Jadeite was grateful.

"The amount of energy you have collected is most impressive. It is nearly on par with the amount Kunzite gathered in London before we were found out... And you say you collected this all on your own? You had no aid from a youma?"

"No help, your highness," Jadeite intoned, struggling to keep his voice respectful and not betray his giddiness.

"Why would you, a high-ranking Dark Lord, chose to do the work of a common demon?"

Jadeite smirked. "Because I am a high-ranking Dark Lord and they are common demons."

Though a subtle ripple of displeasure began to filter through the spectators, Beryl's seldom heard chuckle effectively quashed that sentiment. A few dared to join her, and though their companions could tell it was not half-hearted, those demons would surely pay for their levity in a dark corridor within the hour.

"Well done, Lord Jadeite," Beryl reiterated. "We are all grateful for your service to the Dark Kingdom."

Jadeite's inner child was beaming at all of this praise.

"And I trust the Sailor Senshi and that Tuxedo Kamen have been taken care of as well?"

Before Jadeite could offer up any assurance that he was expecting a report back at any moment, he sensed Zoisite's all too unwelcome presence behind him. A few sakura petals floated in front of his face, as if strategically placed to annoy him. He waved his hand, casting them aside as he marveled on how utterly inappropriate the delicate flowers seemed for the treacherous general. He felt perhaps that ripe sewage would be apt.

"What is the meaning of this, Zoisite?" Queen Beryl asked, eternally irritated by his antics.

Refusing to stand on the ground like a normal person would, Zoisite remained up in the air, crossing his legs as casually as if he was sitting down to tea. "Forgive my intrusion, Queen Beryl," he began in a tone that clearly illustrated how unapologetic he was. "I just thought you and Jadeite might be interested to know that my spies have only just now reported that his youma has failed, Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen still live, and a new Senshi has joined the ranks. Sailor Mars if you want to be specific."

There was a terrible moment in which Queen Beryl didn't seem to register the information. It was very much like the eruption of a volcano. One could sense the rumbling for days or week, but there would always be a few horrible seconds in which everything would become utterly still. The smoke and ash would fill the air as liquid fire slipped down the mountain, destroying everything in its path without any semblance of mercy.

"WHAT!"

Of course, Beryl was far worse than a volcano.

"And I'm dead," Jadeite muttered miserable, quickly formulating a way to use Zoisite as a body shield.

Beryl was positively seething. "Jadeite, your incompetence has not only cost us the deaths of our two enemies, but the birth of a third! And the Soldier of Fire no less! Surely even you remember how deadly she proved to be in the final days of the Moon Kingdom!"

To be perfectly honest, he didn't. However, Kunzite had once mentioned that she'd taken out an entire infantry troupe in one blast early on in the battle. The reappearance of Sailor Mars was the sharpest nail in his specially made coffin.

Jadeite tried to swallow only to find that his mouth was dryer than stone. "Queen Beryl, I--"

"No more excuses!" Queen Beryl screeched. "I'm through with your failures! I hereby order--"

"One moment, Queen Beryl," a cool alto voice echoed, bringing the queen's tirade to a halt. A moment later, Jadeite felt a light mist cover the left side of his body, offering him a little comfort in what he thought were his last moments. He dared to steal a glance at the new arrival, only slightly surprised to see Tetis standing there.

A high level assassin in the Dark Kingdom, Tetis had achieved all of the honor a mere youma could possibly achieve in its short existence. She served directly under Queen Beryl, answering to her and her alone. Pale skin, long hair darker than the sea, and a short Chinese dress graced her human form. Tetis was one of the few youma who did not drop the glamour even at home. She saved it for the kill, and somehow, that made her that much more dangerous. And it was her status that saved her from Queen Beryl's wrath.

"Have you come to defend this pathetic worm, Tetis?" Beryl asked, sounding somewhat amused. It was no secret in the Dark Kingdom that Tetis had a certain fondness for Jadeite.

Tetis bowed reverently, smiling wryly. "Forgive me, Queen Beryl. I am afraid that the state of the current situation must fall on to my shoulders as well. Any punishment he is to receive should be dealt to me."

"Oh?" Queen Beryl questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes," she insisted coolly, glancing at Jadeite meaningfully to quash any hint that might give her away. "You see, Jadeite sent word to me some time ago that he was going to require my services in this matter. Unfortunately, the message was not delivered to me until a few moments ago. I expect that Jadeite was forced to locate a sub par replacement at the last minute."

"Is this true, Jadeite?" Beryl asked, betraying nothing.

"Yes, your majesty," Jadeite said without a suggestion to the contrary.

She considered this momentarily before turning to Tetis. "You should get better help."

Tetis smiled and for the first time Jadeite noticed that she was wiping her hands on a handkerchief stained with blood. "It's been taken care of."

The queen chuckled before waving her hand. "Very well then. Begin a new plan of attack when ready. And next time you appear before me, I expect you to be accompanied by at least one carcass."

Tetis smiled, bowing once more. "You shall have three times that, my Queen."

"We'll not fail you," Jadeite said loudly, amazed by Tetis's potentially damning boast.

"See that you don't," Beryl warned. Afraid to waste another moment in her presence, both Jadeite and Tetis vanished in their respective manners from the court.

That left Zoisite hovering in the air, absolutely fuming. He didn't seem to notice that Beryl had turned her attention to other advisors and would not hear his protests. "But... That's it? I thought he was going to fry if he screwed up again!"

"Well, he didn't," came another voice from behind him. Zoisite whirled in the air to see Nephrite advancing from the ranks of youma, stopping to lean against a wall casually while Zoisite tensed. "It seems you failed this time, Zoisite. Jadeite lives another day."

Zoisite sniffed, flipping his ponytail haughtily. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nephrite smiled ruthlessly, walking forward with his hands buried in his pockets. "Tell me something, Zoisite... What exactly would Kunzite say if he found out that you were using the youma you're supposed to be training as spies to ensure your advancement?"

Zoisite pursed his lips, turning a rather hilarious shade of red. He need not ask Nephrite what he wanted in exchange for his silence on this particular bit of information.

"Fine," Zoisite snarled. "Jadeite's safe from me for now. But you can't protect him forever!"

"You're right," Nephrite agreed breezily. "Eventually I'll probably kill you."

Zoisite vanished with a strangled yell, sending hundreds of sakura petals into the air. Brushing a stray blossom from his shoulder, Nephrite turned, making his way back to his quarters. He was in need a celebratory brandy.

-----

Jadeite instantly reached for his supply of absinthe when he got back to his room. Of course, his hands were shaking so much that it was up to Tetis to pour him the drink lest he lose the precious alcohol.

"It was damn stupid of you not to come to me, Jadeite," she told him sweetly, handing him the glass. "What were you thinking, sending an energy collector on an killer's errand?"

"I was..." Jadeite began a thought before realizing that any excuse would have been foolish. To be honest, there was exactly one reason why he had not gone to Tetis and she knew it. He didn't want to be distracted. Now she'd forced his hand and there was little he could do about it.

Jadeite took a long swig of his alcohol, making it clear that he wasn't going to answer her question. Instead, he pulled off his jacket and fell back onto a chair, glowering. "Damn them. Damn them all."

She laughed lightly, leaning up against a table, situating herself in a manner that afforded him a very nice few of her long legs. "Of course. It's just all terribly unfair for you isn't it?"

"Yes," he agreed instantly. "If it hadn't been for Zoisite--"

"She would have found out anyway," Tetis reminded him. "Zoisite has merely proven himself to be as much of a power seeking nuisance as you feared. But I wouldn't worry about him anymore."

Jadeite snorted, lifting his glass to his lips. "Why? Are you going to kill him for me?"

Tetis smiled, crossing her legs slowly, arching a brow at him. "Would you like me to?"

"Yes," Jadeite responded without pause. "But I can't let you. Kunzite would have your head."

Tetis didn't deny it. As good as she was, every member of the Dark Kingdom knew better than to get on Kunzite's bad side. The only person more feared than he was Queen Beryl herself.

"All I meant was, I have a feeling Nephrite can keep him off our back until we finish our job," Tetis clarified.

"Yes. Our job," Jadeite snapped, downing the rest of his drink and gesturing for Tetis to hand him the rest of the bottle.

She pouted cutely, holding it out for him before he snatched it away. "Are you mad at me?"

"Of course!" he snapped, slamming his glass down on the nearest flat surface. "You forced this situation! You're making me work with you regardless of my wishes! You killed your subordinate--"

"Oh, don't act like you care about that," Tetis instructed roughly. "You Shitennou have no consideration for my kind. All you care about is securing your position and keeping Beryl happy. You don't care how many 'common youma' die to further your cause."

Jadeite laughed. "If I'm so horrible to your people, why are you here?"

Tetis shrugged, pushing herself away from the table and walking over the Jadeite, leading with her hips. She straddled him, pushing her hands underneath his faded navy shirt. He remained stoic even as her nails ran over his abs and chest, making his heart beat faster whether he wanted it or not.

"You know that I adore you, Lord Jadeite," Tetis said softly. "What does it matter why? All I know is that you've always given me the cold shoulder, but seeing as I just saved your ass from the fryer, you owe me. And I have no use for money."

Jadeite's breath hitched as he set down his tools to promote drunkenness. "You were an idiot to promise Beryl all three of them."

"Don't worry about it," Tetis whispered into his ear. "I'm here now."

With that, all conversation ceased as Tetis bared her sharp teeth, biting his neck with an animal's ferocity, drawing blood. Acquiescing to this distraction, Jadeite moaned, running his hands up and down her back until he located the zipper.

Well, if he had to be taken away from his work, at least it was this way.

-----

"And that's the whole of it," Tuxedo Kamen finished.

The four of them had retreated to the rooftop when they'd heard authorities and staff heading their way. They had to assure Sailor Mars several times that they would all be all right, but she'd come along in something of a daze. Tuxedo Kamen was leaning rather heavily on Sailor Mercury, who was hardly in a position to hold him up herself, but was performing admirably. Luna remained next to Mars, hoping the girl would say something as she'd been silent since they'd left.

"Like I said earlier," Tuxedo Kamen restated, clearing his throat slightly. "You don't have to do this, and--"

"But it is your destiny," Luna interrupted, speaking over her protégé with a glare. "We will need you in the coming days, Sailor Mars. Your fire power is clearly feared by the enemy. Your reputation alone could help to stem the tide."

"Right now, all we're doing is fighting for our lives," Mercury added softly. "But with you, maybe we could do some good. And... it would be nice to have another Senshi on the team." She blushed softly, lowering her gaze.

Mars was still staring at her hands. This was hard to adjust to... She had known something was coming, but this? Magic powers? A war over a thousand years old? Monsters and fire and fighting and blood? She had never seen this coming. The kami could have sent her a letter by priority mail, and she still would have been taken completely off guard.

She bit her lip and whispered, "So... this is... All of this is... And I'm..."

Tuxedo Kamen grinned at her, coughing once. "You're taking this a lot better than I did. I'd go into detail about it, but I probably shouldn't use that kind of language--" He started coughing, his shoulders heaving with the force of it. Without being bidden, Sailor Mercury helped him sit down, kneeling down next to him. She was clearly worried, but knew better than to ask him anything at that moment. Luna bounded over to him after a moment, resting both of her paws on his knee.

Sailor Mars stared at Tuxedo Kamen with wide eyes. Even though he was three times as tall and wearing a black tuxedo, she could see nothing but her grandfather. Her stubborn, ailing, very old grandfather. The man who meant the most to her. The only person who had ever cared about her. The person she yelled at all time but loved so desperately it hurt in her chest.

Without warning, Mars detransformed, holding her henshin pen in her hand. Just as Tuxedo Kamen was able to breathe normally again, she thrust the pen back into his hands. "Take it. I don't want it. Just take it back."

Luna stared at her in complete shock. "But... But you're Sailor Mars! You can't just--"

"He said I could," Rei snapped unkindly. "And I'm more inclined to listen to him than a cat. Find someone else."

"There is no one else!" Luna shouted. "You're the one with the power, the heritage. You're the only one who can do this."

Rei paused at that, but only for a split second before shaking her head. "I'm sorry. But I have no interest in risking my life to save the world. I have other responsibilities."

"What could be more important than the fate of the planet!" Luna exclaimed.

Rei narrowed her eyes and seemed compelled to answer, but she didn't. She shut her eyes, shaking her head. "You wouldn't understand. Just leave me alone and don't bother me again." With that, she turned on her heel and walked back to the door.

They all flinched when she slammed the door.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Once again, let us all fall to our knees and worship the wonderful Yumeko for making this story readable. For without her, we would forever be confused as to why Mamoru was falling asleep on his bet. Also, her name listing was most helpful as I made use of it multiple times yet again. I may need to branch out pretty soon. ; She is marvelous and wonderful and talented and I 3 her muchly.

I'm sure just about every die-hard PGSM fan got to the end of this chapter and shouted, "Hey! That's what happened in Act 3!" I would just like to state for the record that I actually planned on Rei doing this before I even knew that a live action series was officially in production and not just another rumor. I'm telling you, this fic has been in the works since 2002. It's sheer insanity.

Actually, there have been a couple of instances where I've actually scrapped some ideas because the PGSM series used them, and I was afraid it would look like I was stealing. This was one of the things I didn't want to change.

Many, many thanks to all the wonderful reviewers: Krysia, checkmarks, MoonPrincess, mastermage, Sherry, angelwings6117, Serena and Darien7, popecharlotte, intrasonic, Maria, Elvish, Midnight, Frozen Fire, Kimmi-chan, MoonDiamonds, Cosmic Moon Power,  
and Sokudo Ningyou. Your comments have been most helpful and fantabulous for my ego. XD Also, thanks to Lorien Lupin, Mavan, Tina N. Blair, and Tuxedo Starr for putting this on your favorite's list even though you didn't review. If I left anyone out, poke me. I have a tendency to write author's notes before the actual chapter, so I may have missed your review in the list. Fear not, I still love you.

popecharlotte - Yeah, sandwiches aren't exactly common for Japanese lunches. However, they are Ami's favorite food. She eats them so that she can read and eat at the same time. There are several scenes in the anime showing her eating them at lunchtime, and Ami strikes me as a creature of habit. And I've seen henshin pen, stick, rod, wand... And I've seen it used on its own. One of the many things no one appears to agree on. I'll probably switch it up just to give all of the canon sticklers headaches. XD

All information on Kyudo, the way of the bow, was obtained from the Meishin Kyudojo Homepage and the Ayashi America Homepage, both of which can be accessed from phase of the moon is accurate to the date, which was Friday, July 10, 1992. I got that information from the U.S. Naval Observatory's web site. It dates back all the way from 1700 to 2035. Anyone know a site that goes into the 30th century? Because that would totally come in handy eventually.

Coming Soon - Part Five: Sea of Strife


	5. Sea of Strife

Hands Fall Together  
Part Five: Sea of Strife  
5/27  
by Kihin Ranno

Thesound of the door shutting so sharply, the sound of Hino Rei turning her back on her comrades and her duty, would no doubt go on echoing in their minds for much longer than it rang out in their ears.

For a few moments, no one could think of anything to say. No one could even look at each other. Mercury still had her hands on Tuxedo Kamen's shoulders, instinctively squeezing them a little. She wasn't sure if that was to comfort him or to remind herself that this was all still real. She had a tendency to forget that it wasn't all just a dream, and she was beginning to make a habit out of forcing herself to remember that she was still awake.

Tuxedo Kamen didn't seem to register the gesture regardless of its intentions, dropping his gaze to look at the little red pen in his hand, still glittering in the afternoon light. He swallowed, thinking back on the promise he had made to himself that he wouldn't allow anyone else to be dragged into this against their will. He had no one but himself to blame for this, and he should have counted on someone taking his offer seriously given what he was asking them to give up. Still, he couldn't help but feel shocked and more than a little betrayed.

Suddenly, Luna's tail swished back and forth, hitting Tuxedo Kamen on the back of his arm. The movement was hardly enough to rouse him, but he was certainly paying attention when Luna pushed herself off his leg, rounding in front of him. She was furious, her tail fluffing out to three times its normal size, her bright eyes flashing in the afternoon light.

"Well, I hope you're satisfied, Mamoru," Luna snapped, making Mercury jump a little at how ferocious the little cat could be. "You had absolutely no right to tell her that she had the option of backing out on her destiny."

"Luna," Tuxedo Kamen started, his voice sounding strained and a bit breathy.

"No," Luna interrupted. "You cannot tell people that sort of thing, Mamoru. I was amazed when Ami agreed to band with us when you all but told her that she could leave. Thank God she did, or you would probably be dead right now. That's why I was stupid enough to let you go on like that again today. Perhaps I assumed that all of the Senshi would feel some sort of call to arms. It was stupid of me to let you talk, and it was stupid of you to open your mouth in the first place."

Tuxedo Kamen sighed, clearing his throat. "Luna, I'm sorry. This isn't how--"

"It's as much my fault as yours, so don't apologize," Luna said, her tone making it sound like she wasn't really shouldering any of the blame at all. "But the fact remains that we need her. We need the Senshi, Mamoru. We need them to protect the princess and to save the world. There's only so much you can do on your--"

She was cut off by Tuxedo Kamen once again launching into a coughing fit. This one sounded worse than the last one, coming from the bottom of his lungs. He bent forward, his shoulders heaving. He was gasping for breath, trying to get enough air to force the cough out of his throat. After a few moments, it was beginning to look as if that wasn't possible.

"Mamoru!" Mercury cried, gripping his shoulders harder. When she saw how much he was struggling, she rubbed his back a bit, remembering a technique she had learned from her mother. It seemed to help some. The gesture relaxed the muscles a bit, and it likely calmed him down besides. "Just try and relax. I know it's hard, but fight against the cough and try to breathe, okay?"

Tuxedo Kamen nodded, knowing she was right, but finding that it was one of those easier said than done things.

The blue soldier looked back at Luna and said, "Luna, I'm just as upset about this as you are, but I think we have more important things to worry about right now."

All of Luna's anger had faded away when the coughing had started. She relaxed enough to just look tense as opposed to angry. She swallowed and said, "Just how bad was that battle, Ami?"

"Bad," Mercury said, still doing her best to calm Tuxedo Kamen down enough to breathe regularly. "When Rei started showing the signs... He put himself between us while I tried to figure out what to..." Mercury screwed up her face, taking one hand away from her comrade's shoulder and clenching it as tightly as she could. "I should have been able to help him. I tried, really, but--"

"I'm sure you did all you could," Luna told her, not sounding particularly convincing. Her focus was on Mamoru, not on Ami, and the girl would not begrudge the feline her preferences.

A minute later, the fit had passed, leaving Tuxedo Kamen utterly exhausted and panting to try and make up for the oxygen he hadn't been able to take in. He was still holding onto one of his sides, making them all wonder if perhaps his ribs were in worse shape than they had previously believed. He swallowed and said, "Is there any way to make this accelerated healing thing accelerate a little bit more?"

Luna narrowed her large eyes, her pupils readjusting to larger slits. "Your injuries are a lot worse than they usually are, Mamoru. I'm not sure that even that would be helpful at this point."

Tuxedo Kamen looked a little alarmed. "But if Rei won't help, then I can't afford--"

"We will worry about that later, Mamoru," Luna said as soothingly as she could. Unfortunately, it was quite clear that she was already worrying about it, and she was probably going to keep doing so until the problem was somehow solved. "Right now we need to concentrate on getting you fixed up... somehow."

Mercury looked to the left for a second, then nodded smartly. She rose to her feet, letting her transformation fade away with the blink of an eye. Then she looked out at the horizon and said, "We're going to have to take him to a hospital. Just as soon as I figure out where it is exactly."

Ami had a fairly good sense of direction, but she wasn't entirely certain of which direction the cultural center was facing. She glanced up at where the sun was, guessing that it was a little after one o'clock. Then she turned around, facing in the direction that she figured what she was looking for would be located. Indeed, several blocks away, she caught sight of a large white building she was all too familiar with.

"There it is," Ami murmured, unsure of whether she should relax or worry about what was going to happen next. She looked down at Tuxedo Kamen, almost asking him if he would be able to make it on his own. Then she shook her head and told him, "There's no way you can get anywhere without my help. Come on, I'll get you up."

She crouched down again, slinging Tuxedo Kamen's arm over her shoulders. The pair struggled to get to their feet, but they managed it somehow. Ami could already tell that the walk was going to be slow. There was a fairly large disparity in their heights, and Tuxedo Kamen was already leaning over at a fairly awkward angle to accommodate for it. Then again, Ami was willing to bet that he wouldn't have been able to stand up straight to begin with, so it was just as well.

"How are you going to explain me?" Tuxedo Kamen asked, grinning morbidly. "Say my white horse trampled me?"

Ami paused, shrugging as much as she could with the additional approximately one hundred and seventy pounds. "I'll think of something, but I think it would be better if Chiba Mamoru checked into the hospital."

Luna nodded in agreement. "I'd rather not think of the media's response to you."

He sighed and managed to shake off the magic, stumbling a little as he did so. Ami grabbed him before he fell, and Mamoru laughed a bit. "Mizuno Ami to the rescue now?"

"For the time being," Ami said neutrally. "Come on, there's a hospital just a few blocks away." She looked him over one more time, reconsidering his health. "Can you make it there or do we have to call an ambulance?"

"I think I can make it," Mamoru wagered cautiously. "But I'm not sure if I have my insurance card on me. In spite of my living arrangements, I am on a fixed budget."

"It'll be fine," Ami assured him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Ami nodded with certainty. "Yes, I'm sure."

"How do you know?"

"They know me, so I should be able to arrange it with the billing office," Ami explained leading them over to the door, opening it with some difficulty.

Luna trotted after them, saying, "They know you?"

"Quite well actually," Ami said as the group began what she assumed would be a very slow trip down the stairs. "My mother's been a doctor there for five years now."

-----

Tetis was content for the first time since her creation, whenever that had been. Youma had no memories of the times of their birth. There had been a period when they had not existed, and a period when they began to exist, but the moment when one thing ended and another began was of no consequence.

However, the second ending, death, was something that each of them was very cognizant of and quite desperate to avoid. They had now had a taste of this thing called living, and none of them was particularly eager to give up on it willingly. They were not a people prone to suicide. They were desperate for life, hungry for it.

Perhaps it had something to do with their penchant for collecting energy. Drinking the lives of others made them more aware of their own. Tetis couldn't be sure. She was too tired now to wax philosophical, and it was generally something she tried to avoid anyway.

The fact remained that Tetis now understood the word 'serenity,' the one that Queen Beryl threw around in fury and hunger for vengeance. She, of course, was talking about something entirely different from the concept. Tetis was beginning to find it amusing that women named for peace possessed the ability to cause such rage and chaos, but such had been the price for their power.

But what did Tetis care for the Serenity the first or the second? What did Queen Beryl's vendetta matter to her now that she had accomplished her goal? What was the sense in killing and slaving before her now that she had taken Jadeite at long last?

She had first seen him shortly after her existence was confirmed. He had been with the other three, fighting amongst one another with the amiable rivalries that sparring could produce. Zoisite with his vicious bending of the rules and backstabbing that rarely came to fruition. Nephrite with his calculated movements sometimes over-thought and therefore often undermined. Kunzite with his quiet superiority and capability, never once brought to anger, though she could smell his capacity for the foulest sort of wrath.

And Jadeite, moving and striking like the fire she knew he feared. He was light weaving between them all, reacting more than acting. He was reckless, but not fearless. He had a look in his eyes that made her think that he had never heard the word caution for he had never needed it. He was the type that fortune smiled upon, as things worked out for him without much effort. He was hit, but never hard enough to leave a scar. It would take a heavy blow to knock the wild out of him, perhaps one even heavier than the great Kunzite could land.

He was fire with bright eyes and golden hair. He was vicious power, he was irresponsible reliability, he was a destroyer who would leave ashes behind so that all would remember the damage he had done. He was like that boy with the wings of wax who had flown too close to the sun. Except for Jadeite, the fire of the sun had only scorched him, leaving the memory of its damage and infusing him with its spirit all at one. Thus, he still flew, still laughed, but never again wanted to go near. After all, there were other dangers he could tempt.

Jadeite was fire. And Tetis was water. Deceptive in her calm, plotting in her silence. While beneath her still surface, she churned with a restlessness that would not leave her. Since setting eyes on him, nothing could still her. Nothing could tame her. She was as wild as he, but with the good sense to appear controlled.

It was the juxtaposition of her tranquil surface and her uncontrollable depths that had made her a killer. She had the thirst for blood, but the steady hand to rob others of their life.

She did not often drink it in as others did. She had no thirst for the energies of others. She had only thirsted for him.

That was why she killed. To be noticed. To be worthy. Perhaps to even be propositioned, but he kept his distance. He was willful, but he was determined. His duty would always come first for him. It was why he stayed away from her. He saw the looks she gave him, and knew that to bed her would have a heavier price than he was willing or able to pay.

So he took in the stupid ones if he took in any at all. The ones who did not realize how their predecessors had a habit of meeting untimely, bloody ends upon leaving his chambers. The ones who paid no attention to the twisted innards left out in the open for others to feed on, meant to be a warning. She should not have even had to say, "Touch him and I will bring you to ruin." But most of her kind were brainless. She had opened their skulls and seen for herself, seeing nothing much to constitute a mind.

He had known of course. He just hadn't cared. He had never cared much for her kind, and at times she thought that it was with good reason.

Yet never had she ceased in her want for him. Always she had killed for him. Always she had worked for him. Even as she genuflected before the damned queen, Tetis had bowed to him, pledging him her allegiance and her fidelity and all of her passions.

Until he had found need of her, he had kept his distance. Jadeite had been backed into a corner, and had no choice but to allow himself to be taken. Tetis did not doubt that he knew that his surrender had not been entirely willful, and she doubted that he cared at this point. He could sense Fortune turning her back on him, and he would do anything to carry her favor again. Even slake the desires of a murderous demon to save his hide.

She had wanted him since she had known what memory was. Now that her wanting had been appeased, Tetis rested for the first time since she had ceased to not be.

Whenever that had been.

-----

Tetis was lying on his chest, her hand idly tracing the outline of his abdominal muscles, but Jadeite wasn't paying much attention to that. He was glaring up at the ceiling above them, his hands clasped beneath his head. He was thinking, trying to plot, and failing; however, he was known for always trying and always pressing forward, so he did not turn his mind to other things. Not even the woman draped over him, a situation that would have demanded his attentions at any other moment.

Jadeite knew that having Tetis on his side was going to afford him certain advantages, but he wasn't sure how he was going to use her. She could collect energy as well as the next youma, but she was a killer. While that would be helpful in getting rid of the Senshi and that Tuxedo Kamen, it wouldn't be much use for his primary mission.

Regardless of what Queen Beryl had implied, Jadeite knew full well that the Awakening would always take precedence over anything else. She would revel and dance in the blood of her enemies spilt, but she would no doubt weep when the Empress came forth once again. Thus, he had to keep gathering energy. He had to collect the fuel that would power their assault.

His survival was imperative, and not just for his own instincts. He was valuable to them, and if Beryl were not so subjective to her fits of passion, she would have realized that. Jadeite was nothing if not devoted towards their goal, and he was determined to see it to its end. He would succeed on all fronts and be heralded in the Dark Kingdom for it, or he would die trying.

Obviously, he wasn't too keen on the alternative he had given himself.

"You're tense," Tetis observed, quirking an eyebrow in a manner she thought was alluring. She was right, but it didn't have its usual effect. "Care for another go?"

Truthfully, he wouldn't have minded, but his mission took precedence. Jadeite pulled one of his arms free and pounded on the stone headboard behind him. It was sudden enough to send most youma skittering into the shadows, and it had many times before. However, Tetis seemed all too content to meld herself to him, and she did not move nor even show any hint of surprise. In fact, she acted as if she had been expecting it.

"Of course I'm tense," Jadeite whispered fiercely through clenched teeth. "You told Queen Beryl I'd bring her back three corpses when I haven't managed to get one yet. Do you expect me to be calm?"

He wasn't nearly as furious with her as he appeared. After all, if she had not offered, it would have been demanded of him or he would have been killed. In a very strange way, he was almost grateful. It did not change the fact that he had no idea how to go about any of it.

Tetis let a quick puff of air out through her nostrils, flipping her hair over her bare shoulder. "Oh, that."

"Yes, that," Jadeite snapped, amazed at how flippantly she seemed to now regard his life. She claimed to be infatuated with him, she had saved him, and now she did not care for his desperation. It was vexing to say the very least. "My very existence, the act of breathing... It's something I've grown rather attached to over the years."

"Imagine that," Tetis remarked dryly, amused by his histrionics.

Jadeite glared down at her, still marveling at her attitude. "I'm serious, Tetis! I am not particularly eager to die! But if it has to happen, I'm not going out a failure who couldn't get rid of an amateur dressed like he's going to a funeral and a couple of schoolgirls! It's not going to happen!"

Tetis looked up at him, unmoved by his passion. He could tell from her posture that she would prefer it expressed in another outlet, and she found this expenditure irritating. He wanted to punch the wall again, but his hand still hurt, and he would not harm the other one.

"You have me now, Jadeite," she purred, smoothing his hair behind his ears. "Stop worrying."

He jerked his head, leaving her fingers hanging in the air with nothing to hold. "It would be easier to tell the wind to change direction."

"The wind would listen eventually," Tetis soothed. "If I talk at it long enough, eventually it alters course. Whether from my suggestion or by its own volition, all things must eventually change."

"You'd still take credit for it," Jadeite muttered, bitterly remembering her promise.

Tetis shrugged and readjusted herself in an attempt to stir him again. By force of will, Jadeite did not react, however much he may or may not have wanted to.

Tetis frowned at him, almost awed by his stubbornness. Then again, that was a trait of his that she had not found quite as appealing as some others. "Will nothing make you rest for awhile? If you don't, I can tell you right now that you'll either go batty or you'll become as boring as Kunzite."

Jadeite snorted. He knew Kunzite better than to ever consider the man boring, even in his stony silences. Still, it was a short-lived amusement, and once it had passed, he was just as ill-tempered as before. "A solution to my troubles would make me more susceptible to your womanly wiles. Womanly as a demon can be."

Tetis briefly appeared insulted, but she brushed it aside. She knew better than to assume that his cruelty was truly directed at her. "You should learn to not let your troubles consume you."

"You should learn not to add to them so that they have to," Jadeite countered.

Tetis waved her hand as if that could erase any validity in his point. "You are lucky that I did not keep silent. I didn't see any of your Shitennou coming to your aid. If someone had not spoken, you would never have had the chance to again."

Jadeite regarded her for a moment, considering something. "That was a risky thing to do."

Tetis smiled. It was the closest thing she would ever get to a thank you. "Not as risky as all that. I'm the closest thing to a friend Queen Beryl has. She has a tendency to listen to me."

"She has a tendency to listen to Kunzite," Jadeite muttered. "He's the one who brought down her order to kill the Senshi and her companion."

Tetis looked momentarily perplexed, but she brushed it aside. "The point is that there was no danger in me standing beside you. I'm too valuable for her to lose."

"And I'm not?" Jadeite asked, mildly offended.

"You are," Tetis assured him. "However, I had not incurred her wrath recently, unlike some people." In case he had missed her reference, she pointed at him, a smile curving onto her lips.

Jadeite growled in vexation, now hitting his head on the wall behind him. He was back to glowering at the ceiling, feeling that blaming an inanimate object was an appropriate response to his problems. "And now I'm right back in the position I began in with one more Senshi to deal with."

"You make murder sound like it isn't easy," Tetis observed.

"When it comes to those three, it isn't," Jadeite said wearily. "I just... I don't know what to do. Nothing is coming to me."

Tetis laughed throatily, sitting up and leaning in closer to his face. She ran her fingers along his jaw line, curving around his ear and into his hair. "Well, you haven't been able to devote all of your attention to it."

He snorted. "Yes. And you're not doing anything to change that either."

"Damn me and my demonic wiles," she quipped, her dark eyes sparkling.

"If I could just figure out a way to unsettle them," he muttered, starting to think that he might be on the verge of a breakthrough. "They're beginning to get used to our tactics, our patterns. If I could think of some way to alter them, to catch them off guard, it would be easier to defeat them."

"I am going to repeat myself for the last time, and this time you are going to listen. _Re-lax_." Tetis instructed him, enunciating the syllables separately in the last word.

"What makes this time different from the others?" Jadeite queried, almost interested.

"Because I already have a plan."

Jadeite blinked and looked up at her. She had said that entirely too conversationally for him to grasp its full meaning immediately. "You do?"

"Yes," she reiterated, laughing a little.

He found this most intriguing. "Would you like to tell me about it?"

"Maybe." Tetis smiled wickedly, placing both of her hands on his chest and shifting herself lower on his body. She crawled backwards, her head moving farther and farther away from his face and towards something else entirely. "First, you need to unwind."

That wasn't exactly what happened, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

-----

Rei had hoped that stomping up the stairs to the Hikawa Shrine would do something to improve her mood or at least allow her to vent some of her frustrations. Sadly, it didn't. All it really served to do was tire her, which only made her that much more annoyed with the world at large.

Perhaps it was foolish of her to be angry, but it was an emotion she was familiar with. She had hoped to take some comfort in assigning blame to the one who had attacked her, to the ones who had protected her, and to humanity as a whole for somehow bringing this plague upon themselves. But she could only convince herself of her rage for so long before she admitted that her emotions were much, much closer to fear.

She had been trembling ever since she left the cultural center, struggling to resist the urge to flee in terror. It would look strange for people to see someone running around Tokyo as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. The sight of one person running might very well alert them to a danger that only she could now sense. They might try to run with her and slow her progress, or they might stop her and ask her to explain. Had she started running, she would have never wanted to stop until she fled Tokyo, Japan, Asia, and then ran right off the edge of the world and plummeted into the oblivion of what lay beyond the world. Still, she would feel as if the dogs were coming up behind her, either to devour her or drag her down to their home to suffer alongside them.

Rei felt some amount of shame from her reaction. She had always known about the existence of evil. She'd even been trained in banishing it, but she'd still never expected to have such a direct confrontation with it. She sensed the darker parts of people. She would either avoid them or watch them, finding some comfort in being able to pinpoint the source of corruption. If she knew evil's face, she would never have to know evil.

How was Rei to know that evil was not the sort of thing that could be avoided? How could she have guessed that her sixth sense had led her straight to it in spite of all her caution? Or perhaps it really was after her. Perhaps it had sensed her aversion and pounced, wishing to crush her for it.

Then again, it was more likely that it wanted to crush it because now she not only had the power to banish it, but to destroy it. She could kill it. It would likely fear and revile anything with that power.

She was thankful to have given it up.

Rei stood at the top of Sendai Hill just breathing for a moment before it felt like her knees were giving way. Before she crumbled, she forced herself to sit down, landing rather painfully on her backside. She felt spent even though the walk had not been much of a trek. Being attacked, having to defend herself, and realizing the reality of her fears had been taxing to say the very least. It was barely an hour past noon, and all Rei wanted to do was sleep for decades until she forgot how to fear.

She looked out at the street before her, half expecting either Mizuno Ami or Chiba Mamoru to round the corner to speak to her. Or maybe even that cat. They certainly hadn't expected her to walk away. She would have understood if at least one of them had come after her. She would have been enraged, but it would have made perfect sense.

How could they have expected her to join them? They were asking her to throw her life away. They were asking her to toe the line with death on a daily basis. What was she supposed to do?

She had other responsibilities. She had to care for her grandfather and the shrine. She had a life, no matter what they might have assumed. Perhaps it wasn't much of a life at the moment, but she had goals and aspirations beyond being a shrine maiden. She knew she was capable and talented, and that meant that there were a lot of doors open to her. None of them included fighting hell in a miniskirt.

How dare they? How dare they ask her to do this? And how dare they expect her to take the task on willingly?

Rei had no interest in joining them. It may have been her so-called destiny, but she wouldn't accept that. As far as she was concerned, there was no such thing as fate. There were choices to be made. She could choose to fight or she could choose to abstain, and her life would go on however she dictated it from there. She was someone who enjoyed being in control, and she was someone who was always in control. She would not entertain the notion that she was some pawn in a game. That was simply idiocy.

Besides, Chiba Mamoru or Tuxedo Kamen or whatever else he went by had given her a free pass. He had told her that she could leave. She had done nothing more than take him up on his offer. She had nothing to feel guilty and they had nothing to blame her for.

Still, as she looked out at the cars speeding by and the people meandering on the street, she couldn't help but see them as waiting victims. They went on, completely unaware of what had transpired at the cultural center. They didn't know that there had been a monster and a man who stole the energy of innocent people. They didn't know they were in danger by the very nature of their existence. And they certainly didn't know that their only defenders were a shy junior high girl and an arrogant, headstrong boy.

They were all in danger, and they didn't even know it.

Rei shook her head vehemently and forced herself to her feet. It wasn't her affair. Those people would just find someone else to do her job for her. Someone who didn't have a sick grandfather and lofty goals.

She turned to find her grandfather standing just behind her, looking at her. Rei jumped a little when she saw him, clutching at her heart. A split second later, she looked at him crossly and said, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

He was looking at her, thinking about something. A moment later, she realized he was trying to read her. She had no interest in dealing with his scrutiny and walked past him. Of course, he followed her, but that was his prerogative.

"You're upset about something," her grandfather observed.

Rei tossed her hair haughtily, glancing over her shoulder. "Well, according to you, that's hardly an anomaly."

He pressed on in spite of, or perhaps because of, her attitude. "It's not the same, Rei. Did something happen?"

Rei stopped abruptly, her legs locking in a manner that wasn't entirely of her own accord. Had something happened? Well, yes something had certainly happened. Her class had been attacked, she'd nearly died several times, and then two people and a talking feline had offered to make this a daily occurrence.

"It's nothing," Rei insisted, fully aware that she didn't sound at all convincing. "The class just didn't go very well. That's all."

"That's all?"

Rei briefly considered telling him about the attack, but she very much doubted he was going to hear about it. It would no doubt be hushed up by the center as much as possible. Even if it did get out, her grandfather was hardly the type to keep up with current events. He hadn't heard about the Berlin Wall coming down until the week after it happened. Not that the news had particularly impressed him.

"Yes," she reiterated, flexing her stiffening fingers. "I'm going to go meditate. Try and unwind."

She left without another word, leaving her grandfather to marvel at the moodiness that teenagers experienced and how it seemed to magnify itself tenfold in his granddaughter.

"I am a very unlucky man," he muttered before going on about his business.

-----

Tanaka Sho was utterly, dreadfully, completely, horribly, and mind-numbingly bored.

He sighed pathetically, pushing the air upwards to blow his ginger-colored bangs straight upwards. He tapped his pencil to the beat of the latest pop hit playing on the radio, singing along under his breath, but this did nothing to alleviate his complete and utter boredom. All it really did was remind him of just how desperate for a distraction he was, and that did absolutely nothing for him.

Sho was still astounded that he could possibly be bored in an emergency room on a Saturday, but somehow, he had managed it. He was the current duty nurse who would also act as a triage nurse if the situation called for it. However, on this particular day, almost no one was coming in with any emergency of any kind, and it was driving him batty.

The only cases that had come in were the same old exhaustion cases they'd been getting for the past couple weeks, but that failed to have the same excitement that it had garnered in the beginning. That certainly had been attention-getting, back when everything was new and atypical. One exhaustion case was normal. Especially considering the elevating heat. Even two or three cases coming in within hours of each other wasn't anything to get excited about. But entire groups of people being led in to the emergency room because they had suddenly fainted without any warning or cause whatsoever? That had been thrilling.

Now it was nothing out of the ordinary. Today, those cases had been trickling in, and while he was sorry about the one little boy who had been carried in by his sobbing older brother, he couldn't say that it he found it all that interesting anymore. He had soothed and patted and patched up, but he had been snoring on the inside.

He had also been wondering why no one would just crash their car or drive a metal spike through their hand or something to break the monotony.

What he did find interesting was the reaction of the higher ups. They had been growing increasingly nervous about the number and the severity of the exhaustion cases up to this point. They had been on the rise and getting steadily worse. The various staff members and administration were beginning to wonder if they had some kind of epidemic on their hands.

Most of the doctors thought the idea was ridiculous. The patients shared no common blood types, allergies, or symptoms other than their acute exhaustion. In fact, that was usually their only symptom. It wasn't mono, it wasn't the flu, and it wasn't anything more serious. They were tested for viruses, for bacteria, for infections, for tumors, for just about everything that they could test for. They found nothing in common if they found anything at all.

Still, the sheer numbers was what worried the hospital staff, and that was why they were holding a meeting right now, trying to decide if they should release this sensitive information to the public. Sho thought that such an announcement would be just the sort of thing to jump start his day, but he'd been waiting for them to make that decision for hours now. He had seen no reporters lining up outside as of yet. But, it was still only early afternoon. There was a chance that one could still be called.

He would cling to that hope because it was the only thing that kept him awake.

Sho sighed longingly. "A nap..." he whispered to himself, folding his arms into a makeshift pillow. "A nap would be so amazing right now."

He was about to lay his head down when the automatic doors banged opened. Sho looked up suddenly and was surprised to find Mizuno Ami, daughter of the prominent doctor Mizuno Emi, stumbling through the doors. Sho was even more surprised to see a young man leaning on her heavily, coughing violently. He had several open wounds, he wasn't too steady on his feet, and Sho could tell that he was a few steps away from passing out. With his head wound, it wasn't paranoid to worry that he might not be able to get up again.

"Doctor!" he shouted, pushing himself out from behind the desk to help the young girl and her companion. "I need a doctor out here now!"

Though Sho played the perfect doting, concerned nurse, he couldn't help but feel his spirits lift a little. Not only did he have something to do, but the notoriously shy daughter of one of the finest doctors in all of Juuban had brought in a very handsome looking catch indeed. A project for now, and plenty of gossip for later.

Finally, a little excitement!

-----

It had been two hours since Ami had brought Mamoru to the hospital.

Ami was pacing back and forth in the waiting room, biding her time uselessly until her mother could come down and inform her of Mamoru's condition. She wasn't normally the sort of person who paced. She preferred to sit silently and contemplate whatever it was that was upsetting her. It was in those moments that she often found solutions to problems or insights into things she had never given herself the time to consider before. Even if she discovered nothing, she was content to remain still and meditative, properly waiting for news, good or bad, with poise and thoughtfulness.

Yet, for whatever reason, Ami couldn't sit still. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she was slowly getting used to acting rather than thinking. She had always known that what she learned in school would need to be applied later in life, but she had never expected to be so active at this point. And she certainly would have never dreamed that her actions would have such important consequences.

She was perhaps doing even more good than her mother, who was healing the sick and wounded as they came to her. Ami was attempting to and sometimes succeeding at cutting them off at the source. She was doing some good in the world... She and Mamoru both. And now there was a possibility that he was severely wounded.

Ami had never been so terrified as when she'd watched him depend on her to move and even to breathe properly. She had regarded him as such a pillar of strength even before she had known of his other identity. There was a sturdiness and a dependability that Mamoru radiated without even meaning to that she took comfort in. He was a rock to lean on and a powerful force in spite of his lack of power. She absorbed some of that confidence into herself. It was the only thing that had kept her from running in fear at the battle earlier. He had silently given her some assurance that she was capable. Even at her weakest, she felt stronger than she ever had previously because of his presence.

To see him falter, to see him battered and unable to function under his own power, was scarier than any demon hell could conjure. She had feigned at being under control, and perhaps she had been due to the necessity of it. But now that she could think about what was happening, she felt like a child losing her father all over again. Everything she had come to expect was turned upside down and she was left alone while Mamoru struggled against something that he might lose against.

And all she could do was pace.

Ami was about to see if cursing would make her feel better when her mother came walking through the automatic doors. The ever graceful Mizuno Emi straightened her glasses with her forefinger, flipping through several papers on a clipboard and chewing on the inside of her lip, a habit she detested and claimed to have picked up from her ex-husband.

"Mama!" Ami called out in relief, running up to her in spite of the strange look the older woman gave her. "How's Mamoru? Is he--"

"Ami, how did you say Chiba-san got hurt again?" her mother asked, pursing her lips.

Ami stopped short, wishing that her mother had asked her any other question on the face of the universe than that one. She swallowed and began her story, doing her best to hold unwavering eye contact with the woman and laying her palms flat against her skirt to absorb the sweat coming off her palms.

"I don't know what he was thinking," Ami began nervously, swallowing even though there was nothing in her mouth to swallow. "He's usually so much more sensible than this... He was riding his motorcycle. He was driving pretty fast, so I guess he must have been in a hurry. Maybe he forgot to put on his helmet and that's why..." She was rambling and she knew it. And she knew that she only rambled when she was lying even though she didn't have very many occasions to lie. She stopped for a moment to collect herself before she began again. "Anyway, it was a sharp corner, and I suppose he leaned in too far, and he... fell."

"He fell," Emi repeated briskly, making a note of that on her chart. "And the bike landed on top of him, and they both skidded and flipped about on the road a bit before you got to him?"

Ami nodded. "Yes."

"Where did this happen?" Emi asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Ami's fingers twitched at her sides. "I... I'm not entirely sure. I was just out walking. I wasn't paying much attention to where I was at the time. I didn't think the hospital was too far so I grabbed Mamoru and helped him here."

Her mother didn't immediately respond, looking at Ami directly. The younger girl began to panic, thinking that perhaps her mother somehow knew she was lying and what she was lying about. She had never lied to her mother before. She wasn't particularly good at it.

Just as Ami was about to do something drastic like blurt out the truth or run away, her mother looked back down at Mamoru's chart, scribbling something in her oddly legible scrawl. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. After all, people don't often leave their motorcycles lying in the street."

"Actually," Ami started in a voice that must have been a bit too loud judging by the way her mother jumped. Ami cleared her throat and tried again. "Actually, I forgot to mention this... His friend was walking on the other side of the street. He got on the bike and took it back to Mamoru's."

Emi stared at Ami blankly. "He took it back to Mamoru's."

"Yes," Ami repeated, tensing.

"He took the bike back to Mamoru's instead of helping you get Mamoru here?" Emi asked incredulously, making Ami realize her mistake.

"Well, Mamoru asked him to," Ami insisted. "I suppose we shouldn't have listened. He was rather incoherent at the time, but he was quite forceful about it. He wouldn't even let us move him. So eventually his friend agreed and took off before I could say anything."

Emi held her daughter's gaze for a few moments before looking back down on her chart, her pen flying over the paper. "You know, if that's true, Ami, then your friend Chiba Mamoru must have had a very strange accident."

Ami hoped that her panic wasn't as evident on her face as she thought it was. "What do you mean, Mama?"

"It looks more like someone beat him up," Emi remarked, trying to make her words sound casual, but still emphasizing her point well enough. "Badly."

Ami didn't know how to respond to that. Her mother had all but admitted that she knew that her daughter was fabricating the whole story. She was clearly upset by it, but she wasn't really doing much about it. Ami had never actually been in trouble with her mother before, and she wasn't certain of how she should react.

After a moment, Emi sighed quietly, shutting her eyes. "Ami, did that boy ask you to lie for him?"

"No!" Ami insisted sharply, unsure of whether to be thankful that she was finally being truthful. "He would never--"

"Ami, I realize that he is an attractive man," Emi said wearily. "And I understand that you are at the age where you are going to start... having an interest in the opposite sex."

Ami had never been so very certain that she wanted to die.

"Mother, that is not--"

"I don't want to hear it," her mother replied, though not unkindly. "Ami, this may not be my specialty, but I know enough about the human body to know that these are not the kind of injuries that are sustained in a motorcycle accident. Someone hurt him. If you continue to hang around with him, it is entirely possible that someone may hurt you."

Ami wanted to counteract that statement, but even though her mother had the situation completely backwards, what she was saying was still true. Ami thought back to Rei and how she'd walked out of their lives, to safety. She was refusing to take up the responsibility, and possibly saving her life in doing so.

Emi misinterpreted the confused and pained looks crossing her daughter's face. She sighed and walked forward, laying her hands on Ami's shoulders. When Ami did not look at her after several more moments, Emi tipped up Ami's face, smoothing her deep blue hair against her forehead.

"I'm sure he appreciates whatever help you have give him," Emi said gently, not wanting to upset her daughter further. Besides, Chiba Mamoru did not seem like the sort of thug every parent feared in spite of his owning a motorcycle. No, he was polite, intelligent, and even a little charming. If anything, he was someone who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time or pulled into an unfortunate situation somehow. As sad as that was, Dr. Mizuno could do nothing to help him. She had her own child to worry about. "You mustn't see him anymore."

Ami's eyes widened in fear. "But, Mama, I--"

"I won't hear any more of it, Ami," her mother said, a little exasperated. Without waiting for a reply, Emi moved away from her daughter, walking past her to continue on her with her business. "You might want to go home now, dear. I'm sure it has been a very long day for you."

She pushed through the doors, leaving Ami alone and stranded in the waiting room, torn between desire and destiny, and already knowing which one she'd choose.

She had loyalty to her mother. It was a loyalty written in their blood and the sort of thing that Ami found very hard to ignore. Nevertheless, there was another allegiance that had been placed there first, long before Ami had been born the second time. She had been a soldier before she had been anyone's daughter, hard as that was for Ami accept even then.

"Sorry, Mama," Ami whispered before turning and heading out the other set of doors.

-----

Laura was beginning to remember why she found Americans so insufferable.

Of course, it was her own bloody fault for getting separated from her tour group, wasn't it? She was the one who had been distracted by the so-called literature (in actuality very poor pamphlet) and taken a right when she should have taken a left. Or perhaps gone straight. If she had known what direction she was meant to have gone, she wouldn't be lost.

However, at the time, Laura had blamed the touring company for handing out pamphlets with very bad wording and several grammatical errors that she had been mentally fixing, hence the wrong turn. Now she was stranded in the middle of Tokyo without her tour group, without a map, and without an interpreter.

It had been her luck (or so she had assumed at the time) that she came across two other English-speaking tourists within moments of her plight. They had agreed to help her reach her first destination to meet up with the tour group, using their maps and their common sense. Laura had been elated and all too eager to follow them to the ends of the Earth. Just so long as it was on the way to her tour group's destination.

Well, as it turned out, the maps were out-dated, and Laura found that their common sense was not of much help when no one else could understand what they were saying. They'd been wandering around the city since ten that morning, and Laura was quite convinced that they had wound up in precisely the same place they had started in.

"There's no time to tie your shoe," the slightly taller woman who went by Kris chastised brusquely. Laura was certain that she was either a mother or an older child. Possibly both. She had been barking orders at the pair since they'd all met up, and it had long since crossed the boundary between understandable and irritating. "We have to get this girl back to her group sometime before the new millennium."

The other woman, who had possessed the audacity to wish to avoid tripping, was known to Laura only as Dezzie. Laura found this quite ridiculous as the woman had the sort of features that would lend themselves to a more classical name like Megan or Rose. Frankly, Laura felt ridiculous every time she said the woman's name.

As it was, Laura also felt inclined to violence every time Dezzie opened her mouth, so she did her best to keep speaking to her at a minimum.

Dezzie sighed tragically, straightening. "But Kris, we've been wandering around for hours and hours and HOURS, and we haven't even stopped to get a drink."

"I told you to get a water bottle before we left the hotel," Kris informed her. "And stop exaggerating. It's only 3:30."

Laura would have liked to point out that Kris had really only proved Dezzie's point, but there was no way she was going to get involved in this row.

"Yes, but I drank it," Dezzie said. "And I'm hungry. And I've had to go to the bathroom for the past hour and a half--"

Kris snorted. "That's what you get for drinking the water so fast, now isn't it?"

"I was thirsty," Dezzie maintained, her voice leaping up a few octaves. She also found it necessary to drag out several of the syllables, causing Laura to twitch involuntarily.

"You weren't thinking ahead," Kris corrected. "The same as always."

Dezzie actually stamped her foot. "You were the one who said we'd be able to get Laura back to her tour group in a few minutes!"

"I miscalculated," Kris supplied, her tone suggesting that it was really best if the conversation end very quickly.

"I just don't see what a harm a food and bathroom break would do," Dezzie responded.

Laura decided that it was best not to say that it was probably best if they kept her away from sharp objects at that point in time. She was just about to check the itinerary and see if the women knew where the next place on the list was, when a smooth male voice halted her movements.

"Are you ladies lost?"

Laura turned and found her cheeks turning a rather embarrassing shade of pink upon laying eyes on the very handsome (and, praise all the heavens, English-speaking) man standing to her left. She quickly cleared her throat, straightened her back, and ordered her cheeks to stop that ridiculous blushing. She was pleasantly surprised when they actually listened.

"Actually, she's lost," Kris clarified. "We're helping her."

"Oh, as if you have any idea where you're going," Laura retorted, having had more than enough of the other woman's disposition.

Kris bristled in a manner that made Laura quite certain that she was a mother. "Well. Since you seem to have found more competent help than us, we'll be going. Dezzie?"

Dezzie appeared to have an even more mortifying reaction to the man's presence. She was frozen in place, her mouth gaping open in a manner that reminded Laura of a fish she had eaten for dinner the other night. It hadn't settled well as she recalled.

"Dezzie!" Kris repeated forcefully, looping her arm through the other woman's and dragging her off. She squealed as she was picked up off her feet and taken around the corner, never to be seen by Laura again.

"Praise God," Laura muttered before turning to the other man. She pulled out that same pamphlet, flipping to the page where the day's itinerary had been printed. "Would you by any chance mind helping me? I was separated from my group this morning, and I've been trying to find them ever since. Do you know where this is?"

The stranger briefly glanced at the glossy sheet of paper. Then he looked up, gazing at Laura through a mess of blond curls, smiling in a manner than made her shiver in the summer heat.

"I'd be more than happy too."

Laura would have jumped for joy had she been of any other nationality, and gladly followed the friendly stranger, all too happy to be rid of Dezzie and Kris. For once, the day appeared to be looking up.

-----

Jadeite sighed, quickly realizing that Tetis's pride had been somehow wounded in this transaction. He first looked down at the body of the British tourist. Then he looked up at Tetis, who seemed irritated with him for some reason. Then it was back to the dead girl and up at Tetis again. This continued several times over before Jadeite finally spoke.

"Just out of curiosity," Jadeite began, inching back over to Tetis's side. "Would you have killed her if she hadn't been so clearly infatuated with me?"

Tetis bristled, folding her shapely arms across her chest, arching her back a little just in case he had forgotten it was there. "I asked you to bring someone back to take their energy. I did not say the bring back a pretty girl who wanted to jump your bones."

Jadeite grinned. "I figured you two would have so much to talk about."

Tetis scowled, clearly not amused.

Jadeite went over and placed a finger under her chin, tilting her head to look at him again. He narrowed his gaze, studying the look in his eyes. It was one he was accustomed to, just not one he associated with himself. It was pure jealousy, as pure as jealousy could be. Tetis was envious of a dead woman, and Jadeite found this both surprising and a bit funny. He did not admit to either.

"What are you jealous of?" he asked neutrally. "She's dead. At your hand no less."

"You took her energy," Tetis groused.

Jadeite shrugged, still unsure of what had upset Tetis. "You're a killer. It isn't in your nature to leave anyone alive."

"And you're not a killer?" Tetis retorted.

"I am Queen Beryl's faithful servant, and will do whatever it is she wants of me," Jadeite recited automatically, scarcely thinking of his words before he said them.

Tetis seemed to find his answer all the more vexing. She swatted his hand away and demanded, "Is that all you're concerned about? Her will? What of your own?"

Jadeite almost sighed, but he realized that the act was beginning to grow redundant, so he avoided it. "Tetis, as I have told you several times now, my will is to live. I have no aspirations higher than survival because at the moment it is all I can achieve. In order to accomplish that, I must fulfill the Queen's will, and so I shall."

Tetis glared at him, as if now realizing something unpleasant in him that she had not seen before. "I never would have taken the king Jadeite for a senseless lap dog."

It was Jadeite's turn to scowl. He stepped forward, making the distance between them almost nonexistent. "I wouldn't say things like that to me, Tetis. I've killed others for less. Don't add insult to injury by being hypocritical as well. You are just as bound as I."

"I never did anything for the sake of Beryl," Tetis spat back.

"Then for whose?" Jadeite demanded.

Tetis stared at him for a moment, perhaps conveying the answer to his question in her eyes. As good as Jadeite was at reading people, he could not decipher it this time. She realized this after awhile and drew back, shutting her eyes in frustration. "You're loyal. I suppose I should see it as an attribute."

Jadeite wasn't certain how to respond to that, a fact that unsettled him, but Tetis did not give him a chance to answer. Instead, she returned to a previous subject.

"This is my plan, Jadeite," she said, her mood improving as she distanced herself from the argument. "You were right. The only way to get to the Senshi is to change how we have been fighting up until this point. And up to this point, you have left your prey alive."

Jadeite looked down at the dead girl, beginning to comprehend. "So now we leave them dead."

"Exactly," Tetis said, beginning to get excited. "You said yourself that the Senshi are young."

He nodded. "Tuxedo Kamen can't be too much older."

"How much death do you suppose they've seen in their short lifetimes?" Tetis theorized. "How much murder? The thought that we're draining people past the point of awakening will sicken them."

"How do you know that their disgust won't make them stronger?" Jadeite queried.

Tetis smiled, her previous malice forgotten for the time being. "Because the young are more susceptible to fear." She began to walk forward, leading with her hips as always in his presence. "I plan to kill enough to make them piss themselves with fear. If they know we can kill innocents, they'll know we can kill them. I'm sure they'll realize that I won't be nearly as merciful on them."

Jadeite watched as Tetis curled herself around him like a snake around a mouse. He didn't like the idea of being the rat, but on the other hand, he didn't mind Tetis's proximity. He laid his hands on her hips, drawing her closer and said, "You didn't seem so merciful on this brat."

Tetis shook her head, leaning in. "Now why would you go and bring her up again at a time like this?" Before he could indulge in any more of his insufferable conversation, Tetis kissed him, wrapping her hands around his neck. Ever since the first time she had felt his lips on hers, she had wanted to feel it again and again and again for she knew better than to want it eternally. But she wanted to revisit it as she enjoyed the feeling of his fire entering her and scorching her blood. She would gladly let her skin burn off if she could stay at his side, and she was beginning to suspect that she would pay some price for this favor. She would put that off as long as she could, aiding Jadeite in his quest and keeping him close for as long as her hold would last.

She pulled away several long minutes later and said, "Later. One death will not be nearly as suspicious as ten."

Jadeite nodded and was instantly cold again, save his eyes. But then, that was a characteristic he had always had. He glanced back down at the corpse and said, "We should leave her out in the open. She'll be easy to find that way."

Tetis frowned. "For now, we leave her here. We'll move her later."

Jadeite raised an eyebrow. "And we are doing that because..."

"Because I'm not giving her the glory of the first found," Tetis informed him, disentangling herself before he drew her in again. "They might figure out she was the first dead later, but there's nothing I can do about this. Who they find first, that I have control over."

Jadeite laughed a little, though it wasn't necessarily at her. "You really didn't like her, did you?"

"No," Tetis said plainly. "And if you want to keep me in good spirits, I suggest that any more victims you lure out should be ugly or male. Preferably both."

"You are touchy today," he observed.

"I'm itching for another kill," she taunted, and turned to walk away from their temporary hideaway.

Of course, the real source for Tetis's irritability was much more tangible. Jadeite had gotten close to learning the truth, but only through asking her. And it was the sort of answer Tetis would never give him. He knew of her infatuation and of her adoration, but it was best that he never know of the other thing. The thing that she felt there was no proper name for, but the closest thing she could equate it with was a very inadequate little thing called love.

No, Tetis would never let Jadeite know that she hated that dead girl because he had chosen her. She would take that secret to her grave.

-----

Rei gasped as air suddenly filled her lungs, the force of her shock propelling her away from the sacred fire. She stared at it, face pale and hair clinging to her forehead. She was drenched in sweat, but the heat in the room was not nearly enough to stop her from shivering. It was no wonder that she was so frightened.

She'd never seen someone die before.

Rei couldn't remember when she'd ever had such a clear vision of the future before, and she was quite sure she didn't want to. But she knew that she'd seen that girl die, and that the guy who had attacked her earlier had been there as well. She didn't know the dead tourist or the girl who had been with Jadeite. Rei thought that he had called her Tetis.

She didn't know what this could mean. Was she now supposed to go out and find that girl and prevent her from getting lost in the first place? Or was she meant to keep her from meeting up with those two other women? How was she supposed to find her? Rei hadn't been privy to anything that could pinpoint a location. And on what day? Or was she somehow meant to get back in touch with those... people?

Better yet, was that even a vision or had she had a nightmare before the fire? On any other day, she would have trusted herself to tell the difference, but not that day. Too much had happened. She was too damaged to know fact from fiction.

But what if was real? What if something like that was going to happen, and she had done nothing to prevent it? What if leaving that pen on the roof hadn't been as good an idea as she'd thought?

"Rei?"

She spun around to see her grandfather standing behind her, looking very tired and very exasperated. And very old.

She sighed, wiping the sheen of perspiration off her forehead. "What is it, Grandpa?"

"You haven't eaten since breakfast. I can tell," he scolded, looking out at her sourly. "Come and get something to eat, or I'll throw a bucket of water on you."

Rei paused for a moment, and then nodded. She'd made the right decision. Hino Rei was no soldier.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," Rei muttered irritably. "You old crab."

She was just a girl.

-----

It hadn't taken that much effort for Ami to sneak up from the waiting room to the floor where she knew Mamoru would be. She often volunteered for her mother, and had even changed into the proper clothes for it. After all, walking around in blood stained clothing was hardly her idea of a fun time. Once she'd reached the floor, she'd struck up a conversation with a nurse who was making the rounds with some of the more serious patients, walking with her until she'd seen his chart hanging on the door. Only then did she make an excuse to leave, hanging behind. She almost walked right in, but quickly made the decision to knock lest she walk in on anything embarrassing.

There was a slight pause after her knock before Mamoru called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Ami," she said, her voice cracking oddly as she thought of several embarrassing things she could be walking in on. She cleared her throat demurely and continued, "Is it all right to--"

"Come in," he interrupted.

Ami glanced around to make sure no one was watching and then ducked in, hastily shutting the door behind her. Just as the latch clicked shut, Luna crawled out from under the bed, looking mildly put upon for having to hide when it was only Ami. The television was playing in the background - an old anime show that he probably hadn't been paying that much attention to.

"Are you all right?" Ami asked worriedly, walking over to the bed. Indeed, her concern was not entirely unfounded. He was wrapped up in a variety of bandages, already sporting various bruises of multiple colorings. He looked better than the last time she had seen him, but it still didn't suppress her frantic worry for him. She found that her heart was pounding in her chest and that she very much wanted to throw her arms around him in gratitude that he was sitting up in bed. However, her reserved nature was enough to remind her that that would be a very silly and inevitably embarrassing action, and it was enough to make her hold her ground.

Mamoru nodded slowly, holding his head as he did so. Two fingers ran against some of the seams of the bandage that rested there. He swallowed. "It's mostly just lacerations and contusions. The coughing fit earlier was from a pretty nasty kick to the chest, nothing to worry about. They gave me a muscle relaxant to help with that."

Ami felt her shoulders sag in relief. She hadn't realized how much tension she'd been carrying between her shoulder blades until she released it. The pain left there was enough to make her wince in pain. Still, she forced a smile and said, "I'm glad it wasn't anything worse."

"Me too," Mamoru joked. "I do have a concussion, and they might have said something about a bruised rib. I don't know. I was getting pretty tired at that point in the conversation."

"Vicodin kicking in?" she asked knowingly.

With that question, Luna turned and gave him a withering glare. He looked a bit sheepish at that and laughed, saying, "Well, actually..."

Ami narrowed her eyes, noticing something distinctly absent. He wasn't hooked up to an IV that she could see, which she found very odd. Based on the extent of his injuries, even if none of them were internal, he must have been in a lot of pain. Now that she took a closer look at his face, she could see how tight his jaw was and how he would occasionally flinch with the slightest movement. She drew closer to the bed, her eyes wide with worry. "Mamoru, don't they have you on any pain medication?"

Before Mamoru could answer, Luna piped up. "He refused anything that would make him drowsy. He doesn't want to be too out of it should another attack come about. Never mind the fact that he's down for at least a few days, accelerated healing or no."

"It's really not that--" Mamoru started.

"Mamoru, Ami practically had to carry you here," Luna scolded, whiskers twitching. "You are not light, and it was most definitely not an easy task. Now, if you had at least been of some help on your transport here, maybe I would not be so quick as to order you to bed. As it was, you were completely useless. Therefore, you won't be much use on your feet now."

The corner of Mamoru's mouth twitched. "I think you're exaggerating a bit, Luna."

"I am not. And I will tie you down if necessary, Mamoru," Luna threatened.

The look in her eyes made Mamoru think that perhaps she was capable of doing this, and it scared him a little. He quickly convinced himself that this was ridiculous. This conclusion was mostly due to the fact that he stopped looking at the cat and fixated his attention on Ami. Mamoru looked her in the eyes, trying to look as healthy, charming, and reassuring as he possibly could. "Ami, really there's nothing to be worried about. A little pain never hurt anyone, right?"

"But..." Ami began, looking fretful and unconvinced. "I was there Mamoru. I saw… I had to watch that. You must be in more than a little pain."

"I can handle it," Mamoru insisted.

Ami's eyes were wide, her hands folded at her stomach. She began clenching them and wringing them in a gesture she had no doubt picked up from her mother. "Mamoru, why are you doing this? I know that without Rei, we're at a disadvantage, but you can't shoulder the whole thing by yourself."

Mamoru felt his jaw tighten, enhancing the lines of his face. "It is just the two of us, Ami. Until we find the other soldiers or the princess, we're all Tokyo has. I can't afford to be incapacitated."

"But you are, Mamoru," Luna insisted. "There is no way in hell either of us would let you fight in your condition."

Mamoru's head whipped over in the cat's direction, looking as if he very much wanted to snap at her. He opened his mouth and promptly shut it again, mulling over the words he wanted to say but couldn't.

Ami quickly deduced what it was, oddly enough. It wasn't about playing the hero. He was worried that he might not have a choice but to fight. That Ami might not be able to do it alone.

She knew he was right.

Ami looked down, her dark bangs falling in front of her face. She took a deep breath to settle herself. She was quickly getting used to this treatment from the other two, and while Mamoru never said anything, it still hurt. Even if they were right.

"Promise that you won't go jumping into anything?" Ami asked softly.

Mamoru turned back to her, perhaps a bit surprised that she was reconsidering her position. After a moment, he nodded slowly. "I'm just saying as a last resort. I won't do anything stupid."

Luna sniffed. "Yes, because I haven't heard that one before."

Ami sighed quietly. "If you promise you won't try and get yourself killed... Then I suppose we don't have much of a choice."

Luna stared at her for a moment, before mumbling something under the breath. Ami suspected it was no more than a conceit that she couldn't very well force morphine down the boy's throat.

Mamoru smiled. "Thank--"

"You're awfully pigheaded. Do you know that?" Ami asked boldly, shutting her eyes. "Well, I'm glad you're all right at any rate. I just hope it stays that way."

Before Mamoru could respond, she turned and began to head for the door before the water began gathering in eyes. She was not going to cry in front of him. Whether it was out of her own pride or to spare him guilt, she wasn't sure, but the determination was the same in the end.

It was the familiar music signaling an emergency news report that stopped her at the door.

"This is Satou Hiromasa, reporting for Nippon Hoso Kyokai," a man announced hurriedly, bowing at the camera. Behind him was complete chaos. Investigators, paramedics, ogling bystanders, photographers, and many others that the group could not identify. "I'm currently in the Juuban district where the body of a British tourist, Laura Whiting, has been found just outside of a heavily populated supermarket.

"This seems to be just one in a rash of sudden, as of yet unexplained deaths across the district. Some suspect that this may have some connection to the recent cases of exhaustion cropping up all around the city. As it stands, three people are currently dead, and seven others have been reported missing in the time frame since the deaths began. Both police and health officials are refusing to comment."

The reporter might have gone on, but no one in the room was listening to him at that point. The camera had panned down to the dead woman at last, revealing a once vital human being now robbed of any life. Her pallor was a sickly grey, her mouth slack, and her eyes focused on nothing and everything all at once. The suggestion of the reporter was not necessary to make them look for other signs. It was nothing that any of them could pinpoint exactly, just an overall sensation that they feared they would have realized without the aid of the news anchor. It was too obvious, too fresh in their minds for any of them to overlook without effort.

"Serenity help us..." Luna invoked, her back arching.

"Oh, Lord," Ami gasped, her hand covering her open mouth. "She looks just like all those people... At the archery class, at the juku..."

Mamoru nodded gravely, thankful that there was nothing in his stomach. "The only difference is she's dead."

-----

Inoue Raidon was very tired. It had been a long day at work, and it didn't help that it was his first scheduled Saturday of the month. He had always been amazed at his ability to become so exhausted at just sitting at a desk day in and day out, pushing papers, and longing for some sort of magical reprieve or some sort of compensation. It was all in vain of course, but it didn't change his methods.

Raidon knew that he was not a particularly hard worker. He did just enough to get by, never doing more than he had to and never turning in anything particularly stellar. He wondered every now and again if he even had the capacity to do something innovative, but it didn't much matter to him. Even if he could do better, he did not particularly want to devote the time or effort to it. So, he continued maintaining his pace and plateauing at his current level, firmly deciding that life would be better if he didn't try too hard.

Still, his days were long even if they are not especially fruitful. That was why he almost always went to a bar near his office after work. He was often accompanied by two of his coworkers, but it happened that they were both preoccupied with other things for that evening. One's mother-in-law was in the hospital for something or another (he had made a joke that her bitchery was an incurable disease, so he didn't know why she bothered seeking treatment), and the other had to attend his son's eleventh birthday party as promised to his wife (who he otherwise never spoke to but for the exchange of favors). It meant that Raidon was going to have to drink alone,  
but it wasn't as if he went to the bar for the purpose of socializing.

It was hardly a dive, but it was hardly upscale either. It was dimly lit and filled with the smoke of bad cigars. He was careful not to inhale too deeply for the first few minutes as it almost always set off a coughing fit. There were quite a few salarymen present, some of whom he recognized. He nodded at them by way of greeting, but otherwise didn't make an effort to strike up a conversation. He walked up to the bar and ordered his usual drink - a dirty gin martini straight up with olives. Just what he needed.

On his third sip of the alcohol, he happened to look over to his right and see something else he needed.

The bars frequented by salarymen often had a few ladies of questionable morals. After all, any male would want to unwind after a hard day's work. What could be better than a stiff drink and another sort of stiff altogether? It wasn't often that Raidon indulged, as his wife was still fairly talented in that department himself, but he was far from perfect. He was now under the distinct impression that he was going to fall short of being moral before the night was over.

The woman who had caught his eye was sitting just three seats away. He was shocked that she was alone, but then he didn't think that she could have been there for very long. He would have noticed her immediately if she had been. She was obviously of Chinese descent; her dress was really much appreciated overkill. It was cut in the traditional Chinese style with a high-necked collar and a slit that went all the way up to the top of her thigh, teasing him with slim, pale flesh. Her hair was like ink, caught up in a bun, but the dim light of the bar was enough to give it a liquid quality. The wine she was drinking was the same color as her dress and her lips, and he decided that he found all of these qualities very appealing.

Raidon downed the rest of his drink for liquid courage so to speak. Then he quickly shoved his left hand into his pocket, surreptitiously wiggling his wedding ring off his finger. He straightened his tie, smoothed his hair back, sucked in his slight gut, and walked right over to her.

She turned to face him as if she had been waiting for him for years. "Hello, stranger," she said, her voice making his blood run hot and cold all at once. She held up her now empty glass, a smile spreading over her painted lips. "Buy me a drink?"

Looking into her dark eyes, Raidon thought he probably would have agreed to just about anything she asked.

It was less than fifteen minutes later that she had him sneaking out the back door of the bar, stumbling around in the alley even though he wasn't that drunk. She giggled in his ear, grabbing the collar of his shirt greedily. She held his gaze with a somewhat frightening intensity as she backed up against the wall. Her eyes flashed underneath the streetlights in a hypnotic fashion. She curved one hand around the back of his neck and pulled him close, whispering, "Time to party, baby."

She pulled him forward, bringing his lips down to hers firmly. Raidon began to feel the start of what was probably a really excellent kiss. His heart beat faster, his breath stalled in his throat, his skin gleamed with warmth. But then he began to realize something worrying. His breath wasn't starting again and he was beginning to feel rather dizzy. He thought it must be the alcohol.

He pulled away and started to force out, "I'm sorry, I--"

She didn't let him finish. She kissed him again, and her eyes were wide open as the whites began to disappear, the night dark pools expanding and swallowing them whole. Raidon panicked, trying to pull away. He remembered the stories he'd heard at work about monsters roaming the streets and was now quite sure he had fallen victim to them. His suspicions were confirmed as her slight arms held him in place, her lips sucking the life out of his body. He heart pounded in his chest, struggling to keep beating, and his knees could no longer support his weight. He sensed impending doom, and his very lost thought was how upset his wife would be if he was found without his wedding ring.

Moments later, the lifeless body of Inoue Raidon fell to the dirty ground in a crumpled heap. His murderous consort stood above him, wiping her mouth unpleasantly.

Jadeite appeared at her side, leaning casually against the alleyway and standing above the salaryman's corpse. He looked at his companion dubiously and said, "You're going to have to wash your mouth out with peroxide before I do anything with it,  
Tetis."

She turned to smirk at him, her hair fanning out with her movements. "Who's jealous now?"

"I am not jealous," Jadeite insisted with perhaps a tad bit too much vigor. "I am merely voicing my disgust that you were anywhere near… that." He gestured vaguely at the body, wrinkling his nose.

Tetis looked back down at him as well and shrugged. "I don't know. He's not so bad."

Jadeite looked offended, as if her opinion of this man somehow meant that the two of them were on the same level, and that was not acceptable. "He's fat! And he's old! Look, there are wrinkles. I can see them from where I'm standing."

"There's something to be said for a man with experience," Tetis insisted.

"Well, there is nothing to be said for a man who is fat!" Jadeite countered fiercely.

She laughed at him, falling into his chest so that he had little choice but to catch her. Tetis dragged her fingernail down from his collarbone to his waistband, saying, "I ask again… Jealous?"

Jadeite frowned and muttered something under his breath that Tetis doubted was an actual coherent thought. It was more than likely a disconnected tirade, so she didn't bother to pay attention.

"One mustn't be so picky with the woman who's saving your marvelous body, Jadeite," Tetis reminded him. "Besides... sacrifices must be made." She laughed at her joke, crushing it by pulling Jadeite's mouth down to hers.

Tetis ran her palms back up his chest as his arms wrapped around the small of her back, pulling her closer. He kissed her fiercely, grinning into her mouth when he felt her draw one of her legs up and hook it around his thigh. He smoothed his thumb over her kneecap and said, "We really shouldn't let ourselves get so distracted."

"That's seven now. I think we can afford to take a little break. Besides, what's that saying about all work and no play?" Tetis growled, her lips curving into a smile.

Jadeite kissed her again, moving his hand up under the back of her exposed thigh. He pulled away and said, "I have a very good response to that, Tetis. I'll let you know what it is in thirty minutes." He hoisted her up, pushing her up against the wall as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She was laughing like there wasn't a fresh corpse watching them the entire time.

-----

Though Ami had not had anything to eat since her breakfast that morning, it didn't change the sick feeling she had gotten after witnessing the news report. She had hastily excused herself to the bathroom, closing it before Luna could follow in after her. She'd knelt before the toilet, clutching the sides, and heaved and trembled until she thought her body couldn't handle it any more.

Ami was now sitting on the floor, leaning against the door and panting as if she hadn't drawn breath for a decade. She rested her palm against her damp forehead, pushing her navy bangs away from her skin. She was very tired and her mouth tasted entirely too much like bile and she simply wanted to rest, sleep, and forget that the day had ever happened.

But she couldn't forget. People were dying. People were actually dying.

Ami began to feel ill again, but she swallowed on a burning throat and willed it away. Then she grasped the doorknob and pulled herself to her feet, leaning forward in the direction of the sink. The heels of her hands hit the porcelain hard, the ache shooting up all the way to her elbows. She brought her feet forward and then turned on the tap. Cold water spurted out like blood from a vein. She cupped her palm and filled it was water, pushing it into her mouth to try and get rid of the taste of sick in her mouth. It was marginally helpful.

After spitting out the now dirty water, Ami took another handful of water and splashed it on her face. Then she went back to leaning over the sink, inhaling the scent of the water and letting it calm her as much as she could be calmed.

Which frankly wasn't much.

She'd been well aware of the possibility that she or Mamoru could be killed, but it had never before occurred to her that innocents could die. Perhaps she had taken it for granted that the enemy didn't really intend the people of Tokyo any real harm. At least not for the time being. That was clearly no longer true for whatever reason, and now at least three people were dead because of it.

Ami couldn't help but think that maybe she could have stopped it. After all, she'd been at the battle that morning. Jadeite, the man who appeared to be behind all of these attacks, had been there. He could have been done away with right then if only she had done something more. She'd done her best, but it hadn't been good enough. They would have all been doomed without Rei, and now she wasn't even with them. It was just her and Mamoru, and with him currently incapacitated no matter what he thought, it was just her, and she had no idea what to do with herself.

She wasn't that strong. She knew that. She was good with defense, and she could be useful as a tactician, but that did them little good with no offense to speak of. Mamoru was trying, but it really was a miracle he had survived thus far. Ami was beginning to think that his narrow escapes were becoming more and more contrived. He was going to run out of luck some time.

He'd almost run out of luck that day. If he refused to let himself rest, an impending decision that Ami was beginning to regard as an inevitability, his luck might run out within the next week if not sooner.

Ami screwed up her face and slammed her palms down on the sink with a strangled whimper. They hadn't known each other very long, but Ami cared about his safety. Seeing him hurt that day had been more than enough. It had brought out some sort of instinct in her. Maybe it was because she was a Senshi and her role in this was clearly defined, whereas not even Luna knew why Mamoru had gotten mixed up in this. Or maybe it was just because he was nice to her, and she was used to people behaving apathetically towards her, and she appreciated the attention.

Regardless, she didn't want him to do this to himself anymore. She knew that if only she were stronger, if only she could actually destroy their enemies, he wouldn't have to.

There was a knock at the door. "Ami? Are you all right?" Mamoru called.

"You've been in there for awhile, and we're worried," Luna added.

Normally, Ami would have answered, but she didn't want either of them to hear how she knew she must sound. She turned the water on full blast to drown them out. The force of the water pounding against the porcelain and the whistling of the pipes were enough to keep her from hearing any more of their pleas if there were any.

Ami continued leaning over the sink, staring at the water as it poured out of the spigot with renewed force. As she stared into the stream, Ami couldn't help but think that there had to be a way for her to help in another capacity. Surely there was something else she could do.

She pondered it for awhile, and came up with nothing. Ami then dipped her hand under the stream. The water pressure was enough to send her limp hand down to the bowl of the sink, spraying water everywhere. Ami jumped back out of instinct, staring.

Ami had an idea.

-----

"That cleric fancied you," Tetis observed with a sly grin on her face.

Jadeite shrugged casually, running a hand through his hair. "Well, that's not surprising. I mean have you looked at me lately?"

Tetis rolled her eyes as subtly as one could do such a thing. At one time, she would have said something along the lines of the fact that she looked at him constantly, which frankly was no exaggeration. However, now that she had Jadeite firmly within her grasp, she felt no qualms about giving it just as good as she got it. She did have to hold his interest after all, and a fan would never do that. "Is your ego getting bigger, or are you just revealing your softer side to me?"

"A little bit of both," Jadeite quipped, leaning back on the park bench they were currently preoccupied. There was something entirely unnatural about the two of them sitting there. It seemed far too pedestrian, far too normal a thing for a general of the Dark Kingdom and a high-ranking youma to be doing. Then again, it was best if they did appear ordinary. Word of the deaths was spreading, and it was imperative that they not look suspicious.

"The Sailor Senshi and that Tuxedo boy haven't shown up yet," Jadeite remarked.

"I said it would work, Jadeite," Tetis responded a bit testily. "I did not say it would work instantaneously."

Jadeite shifted uncomfortably. He was getting restless, and Tetis's calm was positively maddening. "Forgive me if I would like to do this swiftly. After all, it is my neck on the chopping block."

"You are both clichéd and impatient," Tetis said. "It is a very good thing you look the way you do, or Nephrite probably would have been promoted over you."

Jadeite scowled. Even in jest, he couldn't stand any implication that either of his subordinates were in any way superior to him, or that he had not earned his place. He was just as skilled a killer as she, and probably more so. He was prepared to march into battle in a frontal assault against the Terran nation. It was the Dark Kingdom that wasn't ready for him. "Any other youma would be struck for that. At least."

Tetis smiled, her white teeth glinting in the dimming light. "Well, I suppose I should be thankful that I happen to be the youma that screwed you in an alley an hour ago, hm?"

Jadeite laughed. "As if sharing my bed would be enough to save you."

"So why don't you then?" Tetis asked quite seriously. "Do you fear reprisal from Queen Beryl?" She leaned forward until her lips were practically brushing up against his, her rain straight hair falling in front of their faces. "Or is it something else?"

They both knew exactly what she was implying. Jadeite's face immediately became unreadable, every feature hardening into stoicism. She was close enough to make him uncomfortable, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of flinching away. She remained poised like that for awhile, eyebrow arched, and waiting for his answer.

"Excuse me?"

Tetis turned suddenly, trying to look as unpleasant as humanly possible. However, her face softened when she saw a little boy who looked as though he had been crying. "Yes?" she asked sweetly. "What is it, little one? Are you lost?"

"No," he answered, his voice warbling. "But my dog is. I left him alone for just a minute, and... My daddy just bought me the dog, and he's going to be so mad if he knows I lost it, and it's getting dark out, and he's probably really scared, and--"

"Oh, you poor thing," Tetis cooed, rising from her seat and walking over to the little boy. Jadeite quickly took her place on the bench, positioning himself to hide the small, furry pile they were hiding underneath it. Then Tetis extended a hand to the boy. "Don't you worry. We'll find your puppy. Okay?"

The small child nodded, taking Tetis's hand. Her long fingers curled around his as she led him away.

Jadeite did not watch them go.

-----

"Don't go with her!" Rei shouted to the air. She was sitting up in bed, drinking in oxygen, and feeling quite woozy from changing positions so suddenly. She'd gone to bed early, hoping to forget about the day, only to be confronted with more of these odd scenes.

They all ended the same way.

Rei held her head in both of her hands, keeping her eyes open for fear of seeing that little boy in her head. She almost wanted to cry, but that would have been suggesting that these things she was seeing were somehow real. They couldn't be real. No vision could have been that vivid.

They had to be dreams. They had to be manifestations of her guilty conscience or some other nonsense she had heard from that girl who sat near her at lunch who liked to babble about her father's psychology practice. They were not messages from the future or reflections of the past. They were just nightmares. Just her subconscious torturing her for not wanting to risk her life for the so-called greater good.

"Well, it can stop. Now," Rei growled, ordering her brain to cooperate. She knew that she had no choice. She had to do this. She had to. If she got hurt, who was supposed to take care of her grandfather? The closest thing he had to another relative was her father, and he hadn't even bothered to send her a Get Well card when she'd broken her wrist the year before. He had a few friends, but they weren't in much better shape than he was. She was all he had, and she could not afford to go risking her neck for people she didn't even know.

Not even little boys who had lost their puppies.

Rei's shoulders shook a bit, but she forced them to stop. She would not cry. Hino Rei did not cry unless she had a damn good reason to, and nightmares were not one of them. There was only one person in this world worthy of her tears.

She heard coughing coming from the next room, and she couldn't help but sigh wearily. She waited a few minutes to make sure that it wasn't a fit. When she heard nothing else from her grandfather's bedroom, Rei decided that it was best if she tried to get some more sleep. The next day may have been Sunday, but it didn't change the fact that she had to be up early in order to do her usual chores that had been neglected that day in favor of that archery class.

Rei groaned and flopped back onto her pillows, pushing all thoughts of monsters and fire and little boys out of her head. She pulled the covers up over her head, squeezed her eyes shut, and thought of the most pleasant things she possibly could, hoping she would fall asleep soon.

Part of her knew the truth, but she ignored it like someone was paying her to do so.

-----

After Ami had finally emerged from the bathroom, she had excused herself, saying that she wasn't even supposed to be there to begin with. She had left before Luna or Mamoru could say much of anything else, a fact that momentarily annoyed them both. After all, they hadn't discussed the new threat.

It was Luna that realized it didn't matter. There wasn't much one soldier could do.

Now night had fallen, and Mamoru was lying back in his bed, trying to sleep. He found that next to impossible, the image of the dead girl burned into his brain. He was supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening. He was supposed to protect people. Now all he could do was lie around and feel guilt for his ineffectualness.

Perhaps that was another reason that he continued to refuse pain medication in spite of Ami's and Luna's sound advice. It was his own punishment, and reminder that while he could feel pain, there were other people who could not. He had only himself to blame for that.

Luna sat at his feet, her tail whipping back and forth as if marking the passage of each second. She had remained oddly silent for much of the evening, perhaps sensing that Mamoru needed to be left alone with his thoughts for a time. Nevertheless, she was not accustomed to silence, and she could not sustain it for eternity. "You should try and get some sleep," Luna said finally.

Mamoru snorted, bringing up a bandaged hand and rubbing his forehead again. It had become a compulsion ever since the moment he realized that his head was wrapped in gauze, just as it had been when it was a little boy and he had to be told what his name was. It was another memory that was aiding his insomnia. "I am trying, Luna," he insisted. "I just don't seem to be doing a very good job of it."

Luna's whiskers twitched. "I would begin by closing my eyes."

Mamoru glared in Luna's general direction before setting his head back down against the pillows. He heaved as great a sigh as his still smarting lungs would allow. "I just... can't. Not knowing that--"

"I know," Luna interrupted, her voice compassionate. "I know that it's hard, Mamoru, but you have to accept the fact that there wasn't anything you could do."

"Wasn't there?" Mamoru counted. "I could have helped her. I could have been… upright. That would have been a start. It would have at least given her a chance."

Luna huffed quietly. "You give yourself entirely too much credit. Even if you weren't injured, there's no way for us to pinpoint the location of enemies before they arrive. I very much doubt they're staying in one place for very long." Luna paused. "Furthermore, Ami has no way to track people. If she could lock onto an object they were carrying, that would be one thing, but--"

"I get it," Mamoru snapped. "It's hopeless."

Luna hesitated before speaking again. When she did, her voice was even softer than before, sensing that abrasiveness was not Mamoru needed. "We'll figure something out, Mamoru."

Mamoru shook his head, his eyelids fluttering a bit. "Are we that much good without Mars to help?"

"As far as I can see it, we wouldn't be much better off with her, so there's no sense in going down that road," Luna chastised. "Mamoru, based on how she was acting, she would have told us to take a hike even if you hadn't given her an option. So you're not allowed to blame yourself either."

Mamoru looked down the bed at Luna, almost feeling the urge to smile. "So, you're not upset with me?"

"No, I'm still ticked off."

Mamoru frowned. "I suppose I should be thankful for your honesty."

"You're welcome," Luna retorted smartly, her eyes glittering under the starlight.

Mamoru shook his head and fell into silence for a moment. A few minutes later, he asked, "Luna, could you bring her henshin stick over here?"

Luna blinked. "What for?"

Mamoru shrugged, not really having an answer. "I guess I'd just feel better if I had it with me. It's sealed up in the bags with my clothes in it."

"In the bathroom?" Luna asked, hopping off the bad to go investigate. "I don't see why you're worried about it. It's not as if the enemy is camping out in the…" Her voice trailed off as she disappeared into the other room.

Mamoru sat up a bit, wondering what could have silenced her. "Luna? What is it?"

Luna emerged a few minutes later, looked vexed. "Well, it seems that someone has already opened the bag."

It was Mamoru's turn to balk. "What?"

"Oh, I can do you one better," Luna continued. "They took the henshin pen."

Mamoru sat straight up in bed, now fully alarmed. "They took it? But why? Who's been in there since I put them there anyway?"

The two considered this for a moment before coming to the same conclusion at the approximately the same time.

"Ami."

-----

The next morning, when Ami walked out of her building to run a vitally important errand, she realized that she was the only one in her area daring to walk outside.

Ami pursed her lips, but she had been counting on some reaction akin to this. Granted, she never could have anticipated that people would take it to this extreme. However, given the rising death toll and the new speculation that these deaths had something to do with the "supernatural events" that had been occurring as of late, Ami supposed that she should have expected such an extreme reaction.

She had woken up to the news that there were now at least eleven people dead, including a five year old boy who had been found cuddling the corpse of his new puppy. His father had been the one to find him. After hearing that, Ami had decided not to eat breakfast.

There were still more missing, and everyone had been advised to stay indoors. Ami's mother had even called her half an hour after she had woken up, making Ami promise to stay in that day. Her mother, who had stopped believing in Santa Claus when she was three.

When Ami had tried to question her on the supernatural aspect of it, Dr. Mizuno had waved her off, offering up several theories to explain that away. A new breed of virus, an as of yet undetectable poison, or even sheer coincidence. Before Ami could decide whether or not she wanted to debate her mother on the issue, she was called away from the phone. Her mother had reiterated that Ami was not to leave the penthouse one last time before hanging up the phone.

It was the second time Ami had disobeyed her mother in her entire life.

Ami supposed that most people her age would revel in some sense of new found freedom or become slightly inebriated off of their rebellion. On the other hand, Ami choose good old fashioned fear, casting looks over her shoulder to make sure that her mother was not standing behind her. She was aware that fearing her mother was slightly absurd given what else was going on, but it was a fear that Ami could categorize as normal, and she clung to it as if it would save her from drowning.

Besides, Ami might still have been lacking in the offensive department, but she was fairly competent she would be able to handle herself lest a youma of some kind attack her. She had no way to defend herself against her mother.

In any event, Ami did not have much choice but to be out and about in the long run. Her business was imperative to their mission. If she was going to ensure that no more people would meet their ends that day, she was going to have to talk to a certain Senshi of Fire.

Ami had decided while recuperating in the bathroom that she and Mamoru could not afford to be short one soldier in spite of Mamoru's kindness on the subject. Mamoru was injured, and Ami was more skilled in thought than in action. But plans would be of little use without a strong force to back it up, and that was why they needed Sailor Mars, whether she liked it or not. Hino Rei might have turned them down initially, but Ami hoped that now that she had seen all of the carnage the enemy could cause, she might be willing to change her mind. She was still a good person, after all.

Or at least Ami hoped so.

The mini-computer had given her Rei's place of residence to begin with, but it had also been kind enough to provide her with a map after a few simple keystrokes. Sendai Hill was not terribly far from her apartment complex, but it was about a twenty minute walk. On her way, Ami was able to see just how much the city's crisis was affecting its people. She saw exactly twelve people on her way to Hikawa Jinja, a statistic that surely must have been some sort of record, particularly on a Sunday. Tokyo's slopes were always packed with people, and seeing it so empty was more than disconcerting. It also made Ami a tad bit more paranoid, being so out in the open. It made her walk quite a bit faster.

Ami reached Sendai Hill soon enough, and quickly realized that its name was hardly misleading. The shrine was indeed placed on the top of a rather large hill, but as it turned out, Ami was not going to have to walk up the whole thing. Rei was standing on the steps, sweeping up the debris that had accumulated over the night.

This was it. This was her last chance to get the Soldier of Mars on their side. Ami took a deep breath, prayed that her courage would hold out long enough for her to make her point, and began to ascend the stairs.

She reached Rei shortly, stopping when she was a few steps away from the red and white clad shrine maiden. Ami waited for the girl to notice her, but from the looks of things, Rei had not gotten much sleep the night before. She was leaning heavily on the broomstick, moving it back and forth at a snail's pace. She had been sweeping the same six square inches since Ami had arrived.

Eventually, Ami cleared her throat to attract Rei's attention. The other girl looked up, startled. She recognized Ami instantly, and did not seem entirely happy to see her. A few silent moments passed before Rei spoke.

"I didn't sense your approach," she said cryptically.

Ami furrowed her brow thoughtfully. She found that 'sensed' was an odd word choice. Most people would have said 'heard.' "You sound surprised."

Rei nodded civilly. "I am." Rei seemed to think that was the end of the conversation and turned, walking up the stairs before Ami was entirely sure of what she was doing.

"Wait, Hino-san!" Ami called out, jogging after her.

"No," Rei said in a low voice. "I know what you're here for, Mizuno-san. Let me tell you right now, I inherited my stubborn nature from both sides of the family. When I make a decision, I stick to it, and no amount of your convincing is going to change anything. You might as well go home."

Remembering the faces of the dead that she had seen on the television screen, Ami did not hesitate once in following after the other girl. "But Hino-san, we need you."

"I told you to find someone else, didn't I?" Rei responded, her voice growing tense.

"Luna told you that there is no one else," Ami retorted, now walking alongside the miko as she returned to the shrine. "You're the only one who can be Sailor Mars. That's just the way it is."

Rei closed her eyes and tilted her head up a bit. "Well, then I suppose you'll have to settle with being short one soldier."

Ami wanted very much to wring her hands, but she held them firmly at her sides. "We can't afford to do that. Especially now. Mamoru and I need all the help we can get. You were a natural yesterday in the battle! And you were so powerful. I know it's scary, but--"

"No, you don't know, Mizuno-san," Rei snapped, cutting the other girl off. "You may be very smart, but you don't know anything at all. At least not about me." Her harsh words were enough to make Ami pause before speaking, giving Rei an opportunity to plow ahead. "Now, if you don't mind, I have my grandfather and my duties at the shrine to attend to. I don't have time to participate in a hopeless argument you are never going to win. Goodbye, and good luck."

Rei started to walk up the stairs again, oblivious to what Mizuno Ami was going through. The girl genius was staring at the girl's back in utter disbelief at what she was witnessing. She had hoped that Rei was a good person. She had hoped that she would have been somehow affected by the multiple deaths that had occurred within hours of the Dark Kingdom's last attack. She had hoped that Rei would have at least given her a chance now that everything had gone to hell.

Rei was right. Ami could not even begin to understand it.

"How can you be so cold?" Ami asked, her voice high and shaking. "After everything that's been happening since yesterday... All those people... How can you just say that it doesn't involve you?"

Something in Ami's voice was enough to make Rei stop. She turned, looking down at the smaller girl, her eyebrows raised in silent question. She tilted her head to the side and said, "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"The eleven people who died last night," Ami voiced, enunciating every syllable. "There was a mother, a priest, a tourist, and... and a little boy and his dog for God's sake. How can you just--"

"A little boy?" Rei asked, her voice shaking. She descended the stairs quickly enough for Ami to wonder if she had tripped. Rei's face was ghostly white, her violet irises standing out frighteningly against the pale. "Are... Are you..."

Ami furrowed her brow even more, now thoroughly perplexed. "What is it?"

"Oh, God," Rei whispered, her eyes widening as something dawned. "They were real. The dreams, the visions... They were real, and they were happening... Oh, God." She looked away, gazing over Ami's shoulder.

Ami bent her head a bit, surprised at this revelation. "You mean you didn't know about the deaths?"

Rei shook her head, looking ill. "No. There's only one television at the shrine, and my grandfather and I don't have time to watch it. We don't read the paper, and... Oh, my God. It was real. It was all real. How could I have--"

Ami held up her hands, signaling Rei to stop. "Rei, I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

Rei's eyes darted back and forth for a minute before her eyelids fluttered closed. She stood there, breathing, apparently centering herself as a way to cope with what she had just learned. A moment later, she said, "Are there other people missing?"

Ami nodded. "Yes. Several. Why?"

"Because thirteen people are dead."

Ami felt herself get a little dizzy with Rei's words. She swayed a bit before almost shouting at the other girl. "What are you talking about? How can you know that? You didn't even know what was going on until I told you!"

Rei's shoulders sagged as if a building had been built atop them. She opened her eyes, but her lids were drooping. She looked much older than she had just one minute before. "I know because I saw them die."

-----

If Tetis had been under the impression that Jadeite was impatient before, he was positively frantic the next morning.

"This is ridiculous," Jadeite seethed, pacing back and forth as Tetis watched him with quiet amusement. She was seated quite comfortably, her eyes following his every move as he walked up and down the ten feet he had set aside for pacing. "Why haven't they come by now?"

The corner of Tetis's mouth twitched upwards. "Jadeite, don't be so anxious. It's unbecoming."

Jadeite rounded on her and snapped, "I do not live every second of my life for the express purpose of looking pretty."

"No, you live it for the express purpose of saving your own ass, right?" Tetis queried, a smile permanently fixed on her lips.

"As a matter of fact--" Jadeite began, his temper rising and his face darkening.

Tetis rolled her eyes in a manner that was uncharacteristic of her, and interrupted him. "Jadeite, this is quite ridiculous. We know that we have the Senshi's attention. The deaths are all over the media."

"No, eleven deaths are all over the media," Jadeite corrected, folding his arms across his chest. "I thought we left them all out in the open so that they could be found." He paused. "Then again, I suppose they wouldn't become any more self-righteous between eleven and thirteen."

"You're just annoyed Tokyo doesn't get to see the full extent of our handiwork?" Tetis queried.

Jadeite didn't answer, looking away thoughtfully.

After awhile, Tetis sighed and said, "Well, there's no reason for you to get so worked up about all of this. I've gotten you a fair amount of energy, and we know that the enemy is on edge. All we have to do is whip out the big gun."

Jadeite turned back to her, an eyebrow raised. "The big gun?" he repeated.

Tetis nodded, leaning back in her seat and uncrossing her legs. "Yes." She tipped her head back and said, "Everything up to this point has been to set the city on a precipice and to ensure that the Senshi and their masked friend know how much of a threat we are. Now we move on to causing such a scene that they have no choice but to come and save the lives of countless, helpless innocents."

Jadeite glared at her for a moment, more than a little vexed that Tetis hadn't bothered to pass along this information. She had been secretive from the beginning, more than likely assuming that if she tipped her whole hand to him, he would abandon her and do the work on her own. She had made it impossible to move forward without her by his side.

If he hadn't been impressed by her skill before this mission began, he would have been awed by her then. As it was, he felt nothing but frustration.

Still, he breathed in and then out, and said, "How are we supposed to find that many people in one place? No one's on the street."

"So, we don't look on the street," Tetis replied. Then she pulled herself up, all but slithering over to Jadeite and hanging on his arm. She ran the tip of her fingernail across his jaw, pulling his face towards her. "Why don't you relax, baby? We're going to get them."

Jadeite didn't seem as affected by her womanly wiles as he had been in the past. He didn't move away, but he didn't get closer either. "Forgive me if I'm a little less trusting of what you say. After all, you've kept me in the dark even though I outrank you."

Tetis sniffed. "As if I care about rank." Tetis dropped her hand, resting it on his thigh. "Why don't you learn to lighten up?"

"Why don't you learn a different tune?" Jadeite asked her, disentangling himself and moving away. "You know, your arrogance is very unbecoming."

Tetis shrugged, not put off. "What would you prefer?"

"At the moment?" Jadeite straightened and turned his face, showing her his profile.  
"Silence."

Tetis blanched a bit, scowling momentarily. Her face softened a few minutes later as she reminded herself of how long she had worked to be in this position. She had made a few miscalculations, but it was no matter. She knew exactly how to make sure that Jadeite forgot about this unpleasantness. Conveniently, it would also make him permanently indebted towards her.

Tetis sauntered forward, whirling once she had passed him. She crooked her finger, bidding him to follow silently. Jadeite seemed to follow her interpretation of his order slightly infuriating, but he also found himself listening to her. He had started down this road. He wasn't going to turn back now. Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, he needed her for this.

That was precisely what Tetis was counting on.

-----

Upon hearing that her dreams had not merely been some manifestation of her guilt, Rei had felt that she had little choice but to invite Ami in and exchange information about the subject. She had made it clear that this changed nothing, but it would have been senseless not to tell the other girl of what she had seen since she was invested in the fight. They were currently seated Rei's room, kneeling across from one another at her table. There were two cups of tea between them, each untouched and rapidly getting cold.

"So, you get these sorts of visions... often?" Ami asked, trying to keep the skepticism out of her voice. It was odd for her to accept. Yes, she'd seen plenty of this sort of thing on television, but she'd never been confronted with it in real life. Then again, she'd never been confronted with superheroes before, so she supposed her trepidation was pointless.

Rei nodded, her brows knitted together. "I ignored these because I didn't think they were real. I mean, I do have visions, but they're often quite vague. Disconnected images, shadows, silhouettes... that sort of thing. But I saw these attacks… murders as if I were standing five feet away. That's never happened before." Rei sighed, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her forehead in her palm. "I can't imagine why it's happening now."

Ami frowned, thinking quickly to pull together some sort of plausible theory for Rei's problems. "Perhaps it has something to do with your powers awakening. When you became a solider, they could have strengthened." She paused, picking up her tea cup, but not drinking it. "Or maybe it's because you refused them."

Rei snorted. "The Powers-That-Be guilting me into joining you?"

Ami shrugged. "Do you have a better explanation?" she asked sincerely.

The other girl was stalled by her kind delivery of the query, and found herself mulling over the situation again in her mind. A moment later, her shoulders sagged.  
"No. I don't."

Ami licked her lips. "Well, this is just a suggestion, but maybe if you agreed to fight with us--"

Rei didn't let her finish before shaking her head adamantly. "No."

"The visions might stop," Ami argued.

"The visions will stop if you do something about Jadeite and that woman... Tetis or something like that," Rei countered.

Ami's eyes widened as she realized the situation was becoming more dire with each passing minute. "Rei, we need you to do that. Mamoru is hurt badly, and there's only so much I can do."

Rei sniffed and muttered, "Not much from what I saw."

Ami looked down, stung by her words, but she knew that she couldn't get up. Her feelings didn't matter. What mattered were those thirteen people and anyone else who might run into Jadeite and his consort. Ami looked back up at Rei, her dark eyes narrowed and her back steeled as much as she could muster. "All the more reason for you to help us."

"I am not going to risk my life just because you're inadequate and your friend is accident prone," Rei snapped.

Ami gaped at her for a moment before firing right back at her. "How can you say that about him? He risked his life to save you! He hadn't fully recovered from the last fight, but he fought that youma for you! And now he's in the hospital because of it!"

Rei blinked, surprised that things had been that bad even though she had seen the fight with her own eyes. A moment later, she shook her head, willing away the guilt and the mental images that went along with it. "All the more reason for me not to get involved. People are getting killed, and I would prefer not to be one of them."

"More people are dying while we sit around and talk about it!" Ami yelled, a little surprised at her own boldness.

Rei got to her feet and shouted, "Who cares about those people! I don't even know those people! I watch my grandfather die every day! That's who I care about!"

Ami blinked. "Your grandfather?"

"Yes!" Rei snapped, feeling very weary. "He's old, and he's sick. I'm the only person he has, and if something happens to me..." Rei trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Ami was smart enough to do it for her. "He'll be all alone."

Rei nodded. "My grandfather comes first. He raised me. He took care of me when no one else would."

"How do you know those other people weren't just as noble?" Ami asked without missing a beat.

Rei threw her hands up. "I don't care if one of those people was noble or good. I really don't. All I care about is me and mine, and nothing you say is ever going to change that."

Ami looked at Rei for a moment, noting the tired eyes and the way her eyes were sparkling a bit more in the light. Then she got to her feet and said, "You're lying."

Rei was shocked. She'd never expected such a mouse of a girl to be so persistent. "What?"

"You're lying," Ami repeated loudly. "You do care about those people. If you didn't, you would have slept a lot better. And you wouldn't be denying it so passionately either." She walked around the table, bridging the gap between them. "You want to protect them just as much as I do. Maybe you don't want to feel that way, but you do. There's nothing you can do to change it, Rei. You can ignore it all you like, but I know that this forced apathy is eating you from the inside out. You can either change it, or let it consume you. It's your choice."

Rei stared at her for a moment before coming to a decision. She reached forward and grabbed Ami by her shoulder and began to lead her out of the room. Before the other girl could begin protesting, Rei launched into another tirade. "It is my decision. It is my decision to take care of someone I love or someone I've never met. It is my decision to choose to be safe or to choose to be reckless. And it is my decision to throw you out of my house."

"You're making a mistake," Ami insisted, trying to pull herself away, but finding Rei's grip too strong.

"No, I'm not," Rei insisted, pulling open the door and pushing Ami out into the courtyard. She then picked up Ami's shoes and all but threw them at her. "You can leave now," Rei said unkindly.

"Fine, I'll go," Ami said, pulling her shoes on. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a red pen, forcing it into Rei's hand. She had seen the bag of Mamoru's belongings on her way out and taken it precisely for this reason. "But you keep that."

Rei narrowed her eyes enough to make a vein on the side of her head begin to bulge. "Aren't you listening? I don't--"

"Want it. I'm aware," Ami said, her tone almost sympathetic. "If you really want to keep you and your grandfather safe, you might want to take it. The enemy tends to seek out people like us."

Rei blinked, glancing down at the glittering pen in her hand. She swallowed and curled her fingers around it, hoping to glean some sense of security from it.

"Besides," Ami continued, backing away from the shrine. "I'm still hoping that you'll change your mind."

Rei looked up, doubtful. "I wouldn't hold your breath, Mizuno-san."

Ami turned to leave, ending the conversation with, "We'll see about that, Hino-san. But don't underestimate me. I can be just as stubborn as you people when I want to be." Then she walked forward at a brisk pace, disappearing down the stairs.

Even Rei, who loved to have the last word, didn't know what to say to that.

-----

Rather than teleport to the hospital, Jadeite and Tetis opted to walk, though it was an irritatingly quiet trek as Tetis had taken his advice to heart. It wasn't so much the silence that bothered him, but the way in which she was silent. She seemed to be quite smug and reveling in her superiority, which was ridiculous. He once again found himself thinking that had she been anyone else, he probably would have at least maimed her by now.

But he valued his life, and while he was confident that he could take Tetis on, he knew that he couldn't stand a chance against Queen Beryl.

He also knew that no one else would dare to treat him this way. He was equally irritated that he sort of found that attractive.

The attraction did not erase his desire to punch her.

Eventually, the pair arrived outside of a hospital. Jadeite turned to her, an eyebrow raised in question. Rather than annoy him further, Tetis broke her silence and said, "This is one place where we are sure to find people. Wouldn't you say?"

Jadeite considered this and nodded. Tetis wasn't wrong. The problem was how aware she was of her rightness. "I don't know how much energy we're going to obtain from sick people."

Tetis giggled and raised her arms. "Who said anything about collecting energy?"

Before Jadeite could demand to know what she meant by that, Tetis's crimson fingernails grew and glittered. Then she spread her arms out, her human disguise slipping away like water from skin. Three slender, razor sharp spikes protruded from her now blue arms. Her mouth closed and vanished from her face, and her eyes turned a frightening red, her pupil vanishing as if it were sinking into blood.

Several people were milling around outside, and they very naturally began screaming at the sight of a sudden monster appearing where once has stood a perfectly normal human being. They fled in terror at the sight, but Tetis didn't let very many of them get far. She giggled again before throwing both of her hands forward. Water shot out of them at will, but Jadeite knew her attacks well enough to know what she was doing. The powerful jets threw a paramedic into a nearby wall. The force was enough to shatter his skull, blood exploding out on to the brick.

Jadeite grabbed both of her arms before she could attack anyone else and shouted, "What are you doing? They're useless to us if you just kill them outright!"

Tetis narrowed her solid red eyes and hissed, "Do you want to get the enemy's attention, or don't you?" She pulled away and said, "If you want to steal energy, go right ahead. But you forget that I wasn't made to be a collector. I'm an assassin, a killer." She turned back to the chaos she had created and giggled, "And I do so miss the smell of blood and seawater."

Tetis leapt back into the one sided battle without waiting for Jadeite to respond, leaving him positively livid. He had not forgotten her true nature, of course. Tetis was a killer. He had always been aware of that. But she'd tricked him, keeping her council too closely. He should have known enough to force it out of her, but she had wisely thrown up a number of distractions along the way. She'd played him, and he now had no choice but to go along with her plan.

"Bitch," he hissed, before running into the disorder himself, snatching a fleeing nurse and draining her of her energy. Once she was dry, he dropped her and moved on to the nearest person.

They kept looking at him like he was the bad guy, but he thought that they really should be thanking him. After all, he was probably saving their lives.

-----

Mamoru had been attempting to take a nap. He had not managed to get much sleep the night before. First, it was guilt that had kept him awake, and then it was curiosity. He had no idea why Ami had taken the henshin pen or why she hadn't told him about it. He suspected it was mostly because she hadn't felt like speaking at all, but he still couldn't settle down with that weighing on his mind. He had finally fallen asleep at dawn.

He had been enjoying a surprisingly peaceful dream when an orderly frantically ran into his room, shouting at him to wake up. He didn't even notice Luna, who was sleeping at the foot of his bed.

"Wake up!" the man yelled frantically, shaking Mamoru awake. "I don't have time for this, wake up!"

Mamoru groaned, his eyes opening slowly. When they registered that a man with a very white face was screaming at him like all of hell was after him, Mamoru forced himself to be coherent. "What's wrong?"

"The hospital's under attack!" the orderly yelled.

Luna sat straight up, blinking at the man in surprise.

Mamoru didn't quite know how to respond to that. "It's... What?"

"There's some kind of monster that is killing people in the hospital!" the orderly shouted, his voice quickly climbing several octaves. "It managed to destroy the alarms before they were set off, and now we have to try and evacuate the hospital ourselves!"

Mamoru and Luna exchanged a quick glance before Mamoru instructed, "Get out. Take anyone you can grab, but get out."

The orderly seemed all too happy to oblige. Apparently, he'd just been waiting for someone to give him permission to leave. Even if was just a patient with absolutely no authority whatsoever. He just needed some absolution to settle his conscience, which was no doubt telling him to stay behind. Consciences had an annoying habit of being right, but rarely practical.

Before the orderly was out the door, Mamoru stopped him. "Wait!"

He turned around, clearly frantic to leave. "What!"

"Make sure you get Dr. Mizuno out," Mamoru ordered.

The orderly blinked. "She's helping move the patients who can't--"

"I don't care," Mamoru snapped. "Drag her out if you have to, but get her out of here."

Something in Mamoru's voice seemed to make the orderly listen to what he said. He nodded and then fled, presumably to go find Dr. Mizuno and throw her over his shoulder just to get out of the hospital alive.

"Do you think he'll do it?" Luna asked as Mamoru reached for the phone on his bedside table.

"No idea," Mamoru said truthfully as he frantically dialed Ami's number. "I hope so. I'd hate to lose faith in humanity in my line of work."

He finished putting in the number and waited as the phone at Ami's apartment rang once. Twice. Three times. After seven, the Mizuno's answering machine picked up. Mamoru cursed before Dr. Mizuno's cheerful greeting had finished explaining what to do and slammed the phone back into its receiver.

"She's not there," Mamoru explained irritably. He mulled over this development for a minute before he threw off the covers and began to pull his clothes on.

Luna bounded to the edge of the bed and said, "Mamoru, so help me--"

"What do you want me to do, Luna!" Mamoru shouted. "You heard what that guy said. People are dying. I can't get Ami on the phone. I have no way to get in touch with Hino-san, though if I did, she probably wouldn't come. There is no one else."

"Ami will be here," Luna assured him.

"How can you be so sure?" Mamoru snapped.

Luna looked at him evenly and said, "I have faith in humanity."

Mamoru paused at her words, but only for a minute. He pulled his shirt over his head as quickly as he could. He was feeling much better than he had yesterday, but he was definitely not technically well enough to charge into battle. Unfortunately, he didn't have any choice in the matter. "Even if Ami does get here, she can't possibly get here fast enough. I need to do somet--"

Before he could finish the sentence, he cried out in pain. He sank back down on to the bed, clutching his shoulder. He'd rotated it too fast getting his shirt on, and he was starting to feel woozy from standing up. Unfortunately, his concussion seemed to be healing the slowest of all his injuries.

"Do something?" Luna finished, positively spitting. "Mamoru, you can't even stand up! How do you expect--"

"I don't know!" he yelled, interrupting. He sat there, looking at her with a tortured expression on his face for a moment. Then he sighed and hung his head, screwing his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the world. "I don't know."

Mamoru punched the wall, helpless and injured and completely at a loss.

-----

Rei had attempted to continue doing her chores after Ami left, but it proved to be next to impossible for her to focus. The knowledge that people were actually dying had unsettled her considerably. It didn't change her position, but she couldn't get it off her mind.

"Why don't you go meditate in front of the fire, Rei?" her grandfather asked her after she had dropped a box of charms she had been taking out to the booth.

"I'm fine," Rei insisted, bending down to place the charms back into their box. "I just didn't sleep well last night. That's all."

Her grandfather sighed and stooped down beside her, taking her smooth hands into his withered ones and patting them in a gesture that was oddly affectionate. Rei looked up at him, eyes wide. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he said, "Rei, I can tell that something is bothering you. Now I don't know if this is about some boy you met at school--"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Grandpa, I go to an all girl school."

He paused and looked up at her. "Rei, please, I'm a very old man."

At first Rei was confused, but then she caught on to his meaning. She found herself blushing furiously and pulled her hands away. "GRANDPA!"

"Forget it," he said, stopping her tirade before it began. "My point is that something is obviously bothering you, and I don't know if it's trivial or not, but it's affecting you profoundly. So, I think you should sit before the fire." He gestured to the room where the sacred flame was housed, bidding her to go.

Rei followed his finger and swallowed when she saw the flames flickering through the slightly open doorway. She sighed, knowing that if she sat before the fire, she was likely to be tortured with more images of those who were dying at the hands of Tetis and Jadeite. Those were the last things she wanted to see, so she was understandably reluctant to follow her grandfather's advice.

"I'm not so sure that a good idea, Grandpa," Rei said finally, her voice quiet.

Her grandfather shook his head and said, "The fire speaks to you, Rei, and it shows you everything you need to see. It doesn't show you what you want to see, but always what you need. I think that whatever answers you seek lie within the sacred flame."

Rei mulled over these words for a few moments, suddenly aware of the weight of the henshin pen in her pocket. Before she was entirely aware she was doing it, she was crossing the yard and going into the fireroom, sliding the door shut behind her. She turned and almost glared at the fire, walking towards it in a manner that was likely irreverent, but she had heavier things on her mind.

"All right," Rei challenged, violet hair swaying with every step she took. "If Grandpa's right and you show me what I need to see, then show me. Tell me if I'm doing the right thing. Or convince me that I'm wrong."

Rei sat down before the fire, folding her legs up under her. She took a deep breath and concentrated before bringing her hands up and beginning the familiar chant, briefly reflecting on the significant of her words as she was speaking them.

"Rin." To face an obstacle.

"Pyou." The soldier

"Toh." To fight.

"Sha." The foe.

"Kai." To put one's whole heart into the struggle.

"Jin." To prepare.

"Retsu." To focus.

"Zai." To appear.

"Zen." To be the first one out in a battle.

The fire crackled and grew and prepared to show her the answer.

Rei was able to see things in the flames just as clearly as in her earlier visions, but rather than see one person pitted against the deadly pair from the Dark Kingdom, she saw scores of people fleeing a building. She quickly recognized it as the hospital that she had taken her grandfather to a few months previously for his pneumonia. Everything seemed to be in a complete panic. She saw several people lying on the ground. They might have been dead.

Suddenly, Mizuno Ami came running into view, frantically weaving her way through the people running away from the building. She looked around, searching for someone who looked familiar. She found one, and cried out his name, latching onto his arm. "Sho! What is this? What's going on?"

"You know those monsters everyone keeps going on about?" Sho asked, trembling and trying to pull away from her. "They're real! And they're in the hospital! They're just... They're just killing people left and right! There's so much blood, and... I have to get out of here!" He managed to pull away from her and took off running, disappearing into the sea of people.

Ami turned back to the hospital, her face white as stone. She trembled for a minute, standing still as people ran away around her. Several bumped into her, nearly knocking her down. Others tried to drag her along with them, but she pulled away from them, holding her ground. Then she whispered two words that seemed to make all the difference.

"Mamoru." A beat. "Mother."

Without another thought, Ami plowed through the streams of people, telling them to get out of her way and frantically moving closer and closer towards the hospital. She was someone with a mission and a personal stake. And she was someone who wasn't going to be stopped.

Rei blinked, and the vision was over. She sat on the ground, panting for a minute. She didn't want to believe what she had just seen.

More people were dying. So many of them were in danger. Everyone was terrified, including Mizuno Ami. But she kept going because there were people she cared about in there. She couldn't just stand idly by.

There wasn't anyone Rei cared about in there. The only man who meant anything to her was waddling around the shrine, probably miserable that no young schoolgirls had been by for him to hit on. He wasn't in danger. He was sick, but nothing was going to pop out and kill him.

Then Rei remembered what Ami had said about trouble seeking them out. Perhaps it wouldn't always be that way. There was a chance that she would somehow get mixed up in another perilous situation whether she wanted to or not. Maybe even her grandfather would be.

If the enemy won that day, neither of them stood a chance.

Rei narrowed her eyes and nodded, pulling the henshin pen out of her pocket. She didn't want to do this, but Mamoru had been wrong. She didn't have a choice. None of them did.

And she was going to make the enemy pay dearly for it.

-----

Ami somehow managed to pass through the nearly literal wall of people desperate to get away from the hospital. Few people seemed to notice her, and it was just as well. If they had, they might recognize her and drag her away before she had a chance to do anything. With Rei still set on avoiding this fight altogether and Mamoru set on fighting if there was no one else to do so in spite of his condition, Ami didn't have much of a choice.

Once inside, Ami ducked into an empty hallway and transformed. Then it was all up to Sailor Mercury.

She ran to where the few left inside were running away from. Some of them were bleeding or limping. Almost no one was helping the injured. Not even the doctors who had pledged themselves to doing so. Mercury wanted to stop, but she knew that in order to fix this problem, she couldn't treat the symptoms. She had to find the source and eradicate it.

Mercury reached the scene quickly, finding a blue clad youma holding on to a young, struggling nurse. Mercury assumed that this had to be Tetis, the woman Rei had been talking about earlier. She had the young woman in a choke hold, swiftly suffocating the woman. Mercury came to a halt and shouted, "Let her go, Tetis!"

Tetis looked up, surprised at being addressed by her name. She didn't have a mouth, but the way her eyes crinkled up seemed to suggest that she would be grinning if she could. "Well, if it isn't Sailor Mercury. Jadeite will be pleased you lot finally decided to show up." She looked around, still holding on to the nurse. "Where are your friends?"

"On their way," Mercury bluffed, curling up her fists. "Now let her go. I'm the one you want to fight."

Tetis giggled. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I am sure that I want to stop you," Mercury said. "There seems to be only one way to do that."

Tetis nodded, perhaps a little impressed. "Indeed there is." Without warning, she released the woman, who took a very large gulp of air while she could. However, Tetis quickly grabbed her by her ponytail and swung her into the wall. She hit head first, falling to the ground.

Mercury was momentarily preoccupied with her condition, taking her eyes off Tetis. This proved to be a very foolish mistake on her part. Tetis snarled and leapt forward, her arms stretching to cover the distance between her and the Solider of Ice. Mercury's yelp was cut off by Tetis's fingers closing around her neck. Then her arms shrank back to their normal size as Tetis tackled her to the ground.

The two skidded across the linoleum for a few feet as Tetis continued to cut off her air flow. She laughed from above and leered down at Mercury, hissing, "Stupid brat. You might know my name, but you have no idea who you're dealing with. I'm Queen Beryl's most prized assassin! And what are you? A child! A child trying to go up against a born killer. If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a death wish."

Mercury tried to pry Tetis's hands from her neck, but quickly realized that it was doing her next to know good and wasting precious time. Sailor Mercury knew that she couldn't overpower Tetis, which left her with only one option to get out of this mess. She thought back to the water pressure in the bathroom the day before, banking on her theory being right. She closed her eyes and prayed as hard as she could. Then she took her hands off of Tetis's thin wrists, cupped her hands against her stomach, and called on her powers in her mind.

A strong jet of bubbles shot out of her hands, turning into liquid as they hit the air. It was just powerful enough to push Tetis off of her. The youma screeched as she was pushed back, sliding back on the now wet floor with wide eyes.

Before Tetis could attack again, Mercury scrambled to her feet, almost gleeful. It had worked. Her plan had actually worked! She'd used her defensive powers and managed to do some damage. She couldn't help but feel triumphant.

Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.

"You dare to use water against me?" Tetis seethed. "My own element... Oh, you're going to pay for that one, you little bitch!" Tetis screamed and pushed her hand forward, bringing forth a much stronger jet of water than Mercury could ever hope to produce.

Mercury dove out of the way, running around the corner. She watched in mute horror as the powerful stream came into contact with a crash cart abandoned in the hallway. The water punched a hole in it instantly. It filled with water quickly and eventually exploded, unable to accommodate it.

Mercury swallowed and went right back to praying.

-----

Jadeite stomped down a hallway in another part of the hospital, choosing to separate himself from the chaos Tetis had caused in order to find some victims of his own. He rounded a corner, practically running into a female patient who had not been watching where she was going while evacuating. She looked happy to see him until he drained her energy away. Then he dropped her as he had done so many others before her and moved on.

He was still beyond furious with Tetis. Jadeite kicked an abandoned pile of charts and moved on, prowling for someone to take his frustrations out on. Namely, the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen that Tetis had promised to deliver to him. That was her reasoning behind this whole killing spree. If the Senshi saw the greater threat, they would come to destroy it.

Tetis and Jadeite were just supposed to destroy them first.

But so far, not one of the trio had appeared. Surely they had heard about this mess by now. Word traveled fast in Tokyo to begin with, but news of tragedy was just like setting fire to a dry field. They should have been there by now, but so far,  
nothing.

Jadeite heard some whimpering from behind a desk. He reached over it without looking and pulled up a secretary or something. The woman screamed as he began to steal her energy as well, but it was a task he was not going to get to finish.

"Hold it!" a voice called out, her heels clacking against the floor.

Jadeite dropped the partially drained human faster than anything in his life and whirled to see Sailor Mars coming towards him. He grinned and stepped out, saying, "Well, well... Sailor Mars. The soldier that the youma fear so much."

Sailor Mars stopped, her eyes narrowed and a battle stance assumed. "I wouldn't know about that. I do know that you're killing innocent people, and I'm not going to let it happen to anyone else!"

Jadeite grunted bitterly. "Yes, well. If that's your goal, then there's a youma in a jumpsuit I really ought to refer you to. It was all her damn idea."

"Don't act like you didn't go along with it!" Mars snapped.

Jadeite shrugged. "I just thought I ought to set the record straight." He paused, pondering something. "Not that it matters of course. I am about to kill you. I guess I really just wanted someone to know that this mess is not my doing, but it's not like you're going to have an opportunity to spread the news."

Mars didn't seem willing to listen to his ramblings. "Shut up and fight, Jadeite."

Jadeite was momentarily surprised by her eagerness to engage in bloodshed, but then there must have been some reason why the elder youma warned the others of her strength. He smiled and said, "Nothing less from the Soldier of War." Then he yelled and threw a ball of energy in her direction.

Mars quickly dodged the shot, but didn't have much of a chance to rest. She had to keep moving as Jadeite threw attack after attack her way. Eventually, her luck ran out as one of them hit her right calf. It sent her sprawling and would no doubt leave her unable to put any weight on it for awhile.

As soon as she came to a stop, Mars brought her hands up and conjured a tiny wheel of fire. She forced herself to her knees and called out, "FIRE SOUL!" A fire storm came flying towards Jadeite, wide enough to scorch the walls and reaching up to the ceiling.

Always wary of fire, Jadeite vanished from where he stood, only reappearing when the flames had cleared. He looked warily at the blackened walls, and then turned to face his opponent. She was on her feet, and though she was favoring her left leg, she didn't seem to have any problems with running towards him to attack.

Jadeite smirked. "My, but this is going to be fun, isn't it?"

-----

Mercury was not faring too well against Tetis. In spite of her recent triumph, the Senshi had absolutely no chance in overpowering the youma. They shared elements, and Tetis simply had a better command of hers. She was hardly dull either, though Mercury didn't have the time to stand around and compare intellects.

Tetis had abandoned her magic for the time being, choosing to focus on a purely physical fight, which also put Mercury at something of a disadvantage. She dodged several blows before Tetis landed a punch on the side of her face, sending Mercury reeling. She slammed her shoulder into a wall and winced in pain. She didn't know how she was going to explain that bruise to her mother.

The youma began to advance on her, but Mercury wasn't about to take another hit that quickly. She reached up and grabbed a rather hefty picture from off the wall and flung it in her opponent's direction. Tetis hadn't been expecting that and barely had time to move out of the way. As it was, the edge of the frame dug into her left arm. Black blood bubbled up from the cut, and Tetis shrieked in pain.

Mercury moved herself away from the wall in time to avoid a vicious punch that went straight through the wall. Tetis dislodged herself with minimal injury and continued her advance. Mercury dodged a few more blows, and even managed to get one in herself, elbowing Tetis in the ribs. Her triumph was once again short lived as Tetis launched a roundhouse kick to her midsection. Mercury was sent sprawling onto the ground, rolling down the hallway several feet before finally coming to a stop. She wanted to get right up again and keep fighting, but there was a reason why men who were punched in the stomach had a lot of trouble getting up again. She found that it was very hard to breathe, and thus, very hard to move at anything other than a snail's pace.

"You are a nuisance," Tetis snarled, stalking towards the fallen soldier. "And I cannot wait to opine that you WERE a nuisance." Tetis drew her hand back, presumably to call forth another water jet.

Mercury had read in novels that brave men had a tendency to face their deaths with their eyes wide open, and she supposed it made her a coward to turn away before the end. She waited for everything to end, trembling and still struggling for breath even though it looked as though she wouldn't have that ability for much longer.

Then she heard something fly through the air, followed up by Tetis shrieking in pain. Mercury's eyes flew open, and she could not help but gasp when she saw what Tetis was screeching about. The blue youma was holding her now bleeding rose, a ruby red rose sticking out of her palm.

Mercury looked behind her to see the black clad figure standing, his mouth set into a stern line. She could still see the edges of his head bandages peaking out from underneath the brim of his hat. "Tuxedo Kamen!" she gasped, wanting to follow up with an order for him to leave, but she found that was all she could get out at the moment.

Tetis whirled around and flung out her other arm. Another powerful stream of water came coursing out, heading directly for Tuxedo Kamen. Thankfully, he had positioned himself at a corner and was able to dodge the water before it hit him. With a growl, Tetis spun and launched another shot at Mercury. The blue soldier quickly rolled out of the way, ducking into one of the rooms.

Mercury peeked out to see Tuxedo Kamen emerge, drawing Tetis's attention away from Sailor Mercury. The youma began to advance on him, but Mercury wasn't about to let himself get even more injured after what had happened the last time. She leaned out of the doorway and shouted, "SHABON SPRAY!" This time, she flung her hands out, casting the bubbles across the hallway and creating a fog that left Tetis disoriented.

The assassin stood lost in a sea of grey, waving her arms in an attempt to disperse it, but to no avail. She looked around frantically, panting and moaning in pain as the flower had not been removed from her hand. She turned around a few times, staggering about in the hopes that she would run into one of her opponents.

She did. Tetis turned to face none other than Tuxedo Kamen himself. She was about to attack, when Tuxedo Kamen brought his hand up and dragged something across her throat. She felt something sharp cut into it, and her scream was abruptly cut off as it sliced into her voice box. The fog may have been thick, but Tuxedo Kamen was close enough for her to watch as her blood sprayed on to his white shirt. When he was done, she looked over and saw a bloody scalpel in his hand.

She tried to call him a bastard, but she found that she couldn't speak.

Tetis staggered away from him, clutching her bleeding throat. The fog cleared as Sailor Mercury neared where they were, gasping when she saw what Tuxedo Kamen had done. Black liquid was dripping on to the ground, Tuxedo Kamen was covered in it, and still more was coating Tetis's hand. Mercury gaped at her ally, looking a little ill.

Tuxedo Kamen was about to say something, when they heard a familiar shout from around the corner.

"FIRE SOUL!"

Mercury felt her heart skip a beat. "It's Mars!" she breathed. "She came!"

"And apparently there's someone around for her to attack," Tuxedo Kamen said, pocketing the bloody instrument and bringing up his cane. He looked at Mercury and said, "Watch her. Make sure she doesn't try anything. I'm going to help Mars."

Tuxedo Kamen ran past her, ignoring her fervent cries for him to stop. He rounded the corner, and was immediately confronted with none other than Sailor Mars and Jadeite himself having it out. Mars looked as if she had taken a nasty blow to the leg and was having trouble keeping her balance. It also looked as if she was bleeding from a cut on her forehead. However, Jadeite hadn't come out of the battle unscathed either. He looked as if a few of her fire blasts had winged him, and there was a long cut on his cheek, suggesting that her heel had grazed his skin.

The general looked up to see Mars's ally and growled. "Well, it looks like you didn't leave Mars to fight me on her own then. How--"

Jadeite focused on something, his eyes widening in what very well could have been horror. Tuxedo Kamen followed his gaze, looking down at his blood stained shirt. Mars too was staring at it, though Tuxedo Kamen wasn't sure if it was because of the color or the amount.

"Tetis," Jadeite breathed, putting all of the clues together in his mind. He advanced on Tuxedo Kamen swiftly, demanding, "Where's Tetis? What did you do to her!"

Before Tuxedo Kamen could answer, the party in question rounded the corner, Sailor Mercury not too far behind her. Tetis was still clutching at her neck with her good hand, her other one hanging slack at her side. She had not removed the flower. She looked up at Jadeite, her red eyes looking as if they might be welling with tears.

"Tetis!" Jadeite cried. He ran forward, knocking Mars out of his way. She nearly lost her balance and had to be supported by Tuxedo Kamen to avoid hitting the ground. Mercury saw Mars's condition and moved away from the reuniting foes to see if there was anything she could do to help.

Tetis seemed to be in a similar state, falling into Jadeite as he drew near. He caught her, going to his knees as her weight was suddenly added to his own. He looked down at her in shock as her black blood continued to pour out of her neck, staining his shirt. He shook her a bit, as if this was somehow helpful to her condition. "Tetis! Tetis, hang in there! I'll get you back to the Dark Kingdom. The healers, they'll--"

Tetis wheezed in a way that made all three of her enemies wince with pain. She brought a shaking, wounded hand to Jadeite's lips, attempting to shush him. When he saw the rose embedded in her palm, he gently reached up and dislodged it. A little more blood seeped out of the wound, winding down her blue arm like a river. Then she reached up farther and smoothed his cheek with her fingers as her eyes fluttered closed.

Then her hand fell to the ground, and Tetis was gone.

"No..." Jadeite breathed as a black smoke began to come out of her open wounds. He shook his head vehemently and shouted, "Tetis! No! You can't, you--" But before he was able to finish his sentence, Tetis's body had turned to water in his arms, flooding out onto the linoleum and mixing with the black seepage.

Jadeite inhaled the smell of blood and seawater, crushing the rose in his hand.

He looked over at the other three, bearing his teeth. With a pained yowl that almost sounded inhuman, Jadeite leapt to his feet and tossed an energy ball in their direction. Tuxedo Kamen pushed Sailor Mars out of the way, taking her down to the ground. When Jadeite moved on to Mercury, she was more than ready to dodge. Both attacks zipped down the hallway, impacting into a wall, and sending debris flying into the air.

"I'm going to kill you," Jadeite seethed, quaking with rage. "I'm going to kill you for what you did to Tetis!" He drew his hand back to launch another assault, when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. A lot of them.

Jadeite's last attempt to vanquish his foes had seemed to attract some attention. All four warring opponents were shocked to see at least twenty infantrymen from the army round the corner. They were dressed in full battle attire and carrying weapons that Tuxedo Kamen had hoped never to see outside of a war movie. The soldiers stopped when the saw the scene and aimed their weapons at all parties. "Surrender yourselves, or we will open fire!" one of them shouted.

Jadeite stared at the soldiers, sneering. Without hesitation, he brought his hand out and flung it outwards, creating some sort of magical pulse that rippled through the hallway. It was strong enough to send Sailor Mars, Mercury, and Tuxedo Kamen flying into the soldiers, and still strong enough to send them reeling back as well. They came to a stop twenty feet down the hallway, every one of them surprised at his power.

Jadeite pointed directly at Tuxedo Kamen and said, "You. You killed her. I know you did. And I am going to make you pay dearly for it. You will be BEGGING for me to kill you before I am through with you! Do you hear me? Begging!"

Before anyone could respond, Jadeite had vanished in a flash of light, leaving them alone.

Tuxedo Kamen looked down at Mars, who was still clutching his chest from when they'd been thrown backwards. Mercury had had the great misfortune of landing on top of a now unconscious soldier, but she seemed otherwise fine. Tuxedo Kamen reached out and laid a hand on her back, just to make sure that he wasn't fooling himself. "Are you all right?" he asked, panting.

Mercury swallowed and nodded, obviously shaken. "Yes."

Tuxedo Kamen then looked down at Mars, who seemed to have just realized their proximity and was slowly moving away from him. "And you? Are you hurt badly?"

Mars shook her head. "My leg hurts, but... I'm fine. I'm fine," she repeated as if trying to convince herself of that fact.

Tuxedo Kamen looked back at their unfortunate companions, seeing that most of them were unconscious or just coming around. He looked at the other girls and said, "We'd better get out of here before they get up. I'd rather not be a political prisoner this evening, if it's all the same to you." Knowing that Mars was favoring her left leg, Tuxedo Kamen reached over and helped the girl to her feet, glancing over at Mercury to make sure that she could stand on her own.

Mercury was a bit slower in getting up, but she was managing all right. Well, she was until the soldier she had landed on proved not to be unconscious and now holding her back. She yelled and tried to pull her arm away from him.

"Mercury!" Mars shouted.

"Let her go!" Tuxedo Kamen chorused.

The soldier looked up at the pair, presumably to demand that they all stay behind for questioning or capture or some other nonsense, when a black blur shot out from around the corner and settled on the soldier's hand. He released Mercury immediately, leaping to his feet and trying to dislodge the creature who was currently digging its teeth into his skin. It was in fact Luna, and she landed on her feet, her ears flat against her head and hissing.

"Leave him!" Tuxedo Kamen called to her. "Come on, let's go!"

Luna seemed reluctant not to get one more swipe in, but did as she was told. She turned and ran over to Mercury, who was waiting for her with open arms. The cat leapt into them, and Mercury jogged over to the other two. She and Mars took off running immediately. Once Tuxedo Kamen was sure they had gotten enough of a head start, he turned back to the soldiers, who were still in various stages of consciousness. He grinned wickedly at them and tipped his hat, before following the two girls as quickly as he could, his black cape billowing behind him.

-----

Some time later, Mamoru, Ami, and Rei were all hobbling out of the hospital. They were confronted immediately by a number of camera crews, demanding to know what happened. Each of them turned the attention away, although Rei choose to insult one reporter's mother on the way out. Mamoru wisely grabbed her arm and pulled her along before she caused too much of a scene. The trio moved away from anyone who could get their conversation on some sort of recording before Mamoru said anything.

"Well, that wasn't my idea of a restful Sunday," Mamoru joked lamely, petting Luna compulsively.

"You did well," Luna insisted comfortingly. "All of you." This was delivered rather pointedly at Ami.

Ami blinked a bit, color filling her cheeks. "What?"

"I ran down ahead of Mamoru hoping to find you, and I saw how you handled yourself with Tetis," Luna admitted. "That was a very clever use of your attack, and it's going to be useful in the future." Luna looked down, seeming a bit sheepish. "I'm sorry I didn't try to help, but--"

"Don't be," Ami interrupted with a soft smile. She reached up and scratched Luna behind the ears. "You did enough."

Rei looked over her shoulder and gazed out at the countless people who had been injured or worse in the last fight. She swallowed a lump in her throat and asked, "But did we do enough?"

Mamoru followed her gaze, sweeping the crowd until he found that he had to look away. It was true, they hadn't done their jobs as well as they should have. They should have found a way to go after Tetis and Jadeite sooner. They should have been better prepared for this situation. They shouldn't have to have a guilty conscience about multiple, needless deaths of innocents.

It didn't help that Mamoru still had the scalpel he had stolen from an operating tray in his pocket, and it felt much heavier than it should have.

"We did all we could," Mamoru said softly. "And we came together in the end. That's what's important."

Luna looked down at Rei and questioned, "What made you change your mind anyway?"

Rei looked up at the feline in surprise. No one was sure if that would because she had not expected to be addressed or if she was still getting used to the idea of conversing with a cat. Rei looked over at Ami for a moment and then shook her head. "My reasons are my own. But rest assured, I won't abandon you again." She looked back out at the aftermath of the battle, her eyes conveying volumes of regret. "Not after this."

Ami looked over at Rei in sympathy, wanting to say something, but unsure of how to comfort her when there was really nothing to say. After all, Rei had been in the wrong. How was Ami to make her feel better about that?

Instead, she decided that a change of subject was in order. "Do you think he loved her?"

Mamoru looked over at Ami in surprise. "Hmm? Who? Jadeite?"

Ami nodded. "He seemed so... hurt. After it happened I mean."

Rei turned back to the group, her mouth thinned into a thoughtful expression. After a moment, Rei said, "I think..." She thought back to some of the looks Tetis had given Jadeite in her visions. Even with all the carnage she had witnessed, Rei could see how oddly peaceful Tetis had looked when she was alone with Jadeite. She had looked like a woman who had finally had all of her desires fulfilled, all of her wishes granted.

"I think she cared about him," Rei decided. "And I don't think he was used to that."

Luna sniffed, her ears twitching separately. "Well, if they did have a relationship, they certainly deserved each other." She didn't say it with any affection for either party.

"Still," Ami said, pulling on the sleeves of her blouse with her fingertips. "I can't imagine losing someone close to me. I... I don't think I could--"

"Ami!" another voice called out from some feet away.

Ami looked up in relief at the sound of the familiar voice. A grin broke out on her face as she shouted, "Mama!" She ran away from her two comrades and over to her mother. Ami threw her arms around the woman, sobbing a little and very happy to find that her mother was alive and well.

Luna, Mamoru, and Rei watched the happy reunion from afar, standing in silence. After a minute, Rei looked up at Mamoru and said, "Thank you."

Mamoru turned to her and blinked, unsure of what she meant. "For what?"

"Saving me," Rei clarified. "If you hadn't been there, I would have..." she trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence. "Well, thank you."

Mamoru nodded and said, "You're welcome."

"Tell me something, Mamoru," Luna groused, interrupting the moment. Mamoru and Rei looked up at her, taken aback by her tone. "Do you plan on always throwing yourself in the way of attacks like that? Do I need to perform some sort of aversion therapy so that you learn that energy balls are the sort of thing you're supposed to avoid?"

Mamoru rolled his eyes and said, "What was I supposed to do? Let her get blasted?" Before Luna had a chance to respond, Mamoru continued. "You know, I find it interesting that you and Ami were both convinced I was going to get myself killed if I fought again, yet I seem to be the only one who got out of it without any new injuries."

Luna narrowed her eyes, and before Mamoru could have much of a chance to bask in his superiority, Luna had reached out and scratched his neck.

"OW!"

"There. Now you're hurt."

Rei couldn't help but find his predicament slightly amusing, laughing half-heartedly. She couldn't bring herself to be really happy about anything. Not yet. Not after what had happened.

Ami quickly rejoined them, wiping away several tears from her cheeks. She sniffled and said, "Mother had to go tend to some of the injured and sent me home."

"I think we need to have a sit down," Luna said. "After everything that's happened, we have a few things to discuss."

"We can meet at the shrine," Rei insisted before anyone could say otherwise. She felt it was the least she could do after how she had behaved the day before.

Mamoru nodded. "All right then. Let's go."

But none of them moved forward. They remained fixed in their places, still looking out as people were transported to other hospitals. They watched reunions between families and friends, and they watched others mourn the loss of the ones they hadn't been able to save. They watched doctors and nurses and even volunteers run around in attempt to bring some relief to the injured. And they watched still more people stagger out of the hospital doors, disoriented and afraid, but breathing.

Unfortunately, the three soldiers couldn't get past the memory of the ones that weren't.

"We can never let this happen again," Rei whispered, her own voice weighed down with guilt, but her gaze determined.

Ami shook her head. "We won't. We'll be ready next time."

"This isn't going to be a repeat of the Silver Millennium," Mamoru vowed quietly.  
"We're not going to be beaten because we didn't expect such a strong assault. We're going to expect the worst, and we're going to be able to beat the worst."

The agreement passed between them, and only then were they able to move on and prepare themselves for the inevitable 'next time.'

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE 

Whee! It's done. :D This is a happy KR.

For those wondering, yes three Sailor Moon authors did make a cameo in this chapter.  
They were the very bossy Krysia (Kris), the very whiny Dejana (Dezzie), and the very British Starsea (Laura). Note that how I wrote them is not necessarily a reflection of their personality. Krysia got to be bossy because she's a mom, and Dejana became whiny out of circumstance. They are all lovely women and get on much better in real life than in fanfiction. Also, sorry for killing you, Xing. But hey, at least Jadeite was the last thing you saw. I wouldn't mind looking at him before death took hold.

I'd prefer Kunzite of course, but I wouldn't mind Jadeite. XD

Also, for those interested in this little tidbit, the youma-rampage-in-the-hospital thing was in the original outline for "Mask of Lies" back when it was at about thirty chapters or something. I wisely cut that in half, realizing how redundantly boring it would be if I had it at that length. So, I decided to recycle one of the plots and stick it into here because it made a lot more sense and served a much better purpose.

For those of who are now anxiously awaiting the next installment, I can tell you quite honestly that you should have it within the week. You see, I did a silly thing and wrote it before I wrote chapter five. Isn't that weird? Anyway, now all I have to do is rewrite it so that it flows well with chapter five and beef up a few scenes. Then it is off to the lovely Yumeko who will beta-read it for me as she is awesome like that.

And in case you're getting tired of seeing Tuxie kill people (though really, why would you?), it might not happen quite as often now that Rei's on the team. .

Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing this story! Hope you liked this chapter!

Coming Soon - Part Six: Blood Debts


	6. Blood Debts

Hands Fall Together  
Part Six: Blood Debts  
6/27  
by Kihin Ranno

It was a strange thing to live in the Dark Kingdom. Its secluded location in the wilds of a frozen wasteland made required nearly all of the population to remain hidden underground, where warmth was hoarded and trapped as desperately as the energy they harvested. There was no outside world for those denizens. The number of youma who ventured to Tokyo was miniscule in comparison to the rest of the population, and very few had ever been exposed to the elements for a long period of time. The brief exposure was enough to make them want to avoid it at all costs.

That was nothing compared the storm and fury of the Queen's rage.

Beryl's scream echoed throughout every corridor and chasm within her fortress. Some would later claim that the walls shook and cracked, while others would say that their blood ran so cold they could see their breath hanging visibly upon the air. The cowards fled, while the courageous immediately journeyed to the throne room where they would hear just what had caused her outburst.

Whether cowardly or courageous, the Shitennou had no choice but to respond.

Kunzite, Zoisite, and Nephrite arrived at Queen Beryl's feet just seconds after they had found cause to go to her. Not a one of them dared to speak first, but merely kept his head bowed and his fist closed tight to his chest. Not even Kunzite questioned her, though this was out of wisdom, not fear.

Beryl was on her feet, a remarkable occurrence in and of itself. Usually, no matter how enraged she became, Beryl did not rise. A monarch was not meant to exert herself in such a manner. But now it seemed that whatever had happened had been enough to make her want to pace. Perhaps it meant she was angry enough to take it out on her citizens.

Several groups of youma began to quietly take their leave of the room, but Beryl would have none of it. She thrust out her hand, shooting dark magic out at the horde. It impacted the wall above them, causing significant damage to it and several of the youma standing at rather unfortunate spots. No one else tried to move.

"You would be wise to stay," Beryl spat, her jaundiced eyes flashing violently. "What I have to say concerns you as much as my Shitennou."

Now reminded of propriety, Beryl drew herself up to her full, imposing height. She looked out at her demons and at her generals and told them the news, her voice steadied with a forced calm, but still quaking enough to fill them all with fear. "Jadeite, the second-in-command of the Shitennou has done a great disservice by me. He stood before me a short time ago and assured me that with the help of Tetis, one of my most valued and trusted subjects, he would be able to bring me the heads of those who threaten our mission and our very way of life. He promised me that he would not fail again... and he has fallen short once again.

"The assassin Tetis lies dead at the hands of Tuxedo Kamen and the Sailor Senshi."

The uproar from the crowd was immediate. They had lost other sisters to, but never had they lost someone as important as Tetis. She was one of their most revered and most powerful. The younger demons had idolized her and the older ones had always treated her with the utmost respect, regarding her as a kind of elder in spite of her youth. Her close ties with the Queen herself had ingratiated Tetis to her own kind, advancing her status in a virtually classless society.

And now she was dead.

Nephrite could not help but stiffen at the dissonant cries that reached his ears. He had seen packs of youma driven to feral anger before, but he'd never had his back turned to them. He knew that the lot of them would most likely be no match for even just the three Shitennou standing there in head to head combat, but most warriors for the Dark Kingdom had been taught to ignore any rules of engagement if they knew of them at all. Zoisite also looked nervous, but, much to Nephrite's annoyance, Kunzite didn't even twitch.

"I value the Shitennou above all others," Beryl explained, silencing the crowd instantly. "But Jadeite has disgraced us for the last time."

Nephrite felt his jaw tighten in a knee jerk response, one that came too quickly for him to examine it. Even without the aid of the stars, he knew what was coming.

"I hereby proclaim that Jadeite is as good as dead to the Dark Kingdom," Beryl snarled, waving her hands about dramatically. "No one who wishes to remain in my good graces, and therefore remain alive, is to grant him solace. He is a failure! An incompetent! A disgrace to our lot! He is as good as a traitor for what he has done in destroying Tetis!

"Therefore, I order that if any of you should see Jadeite hiding in my kingdom, you are to destroy him! You are to murder him without mercy! Bloody my walls and tear him to shreds! Leave his carcass to rot in the darkest corner of hell! Burn him from my memory and purge him from this Earth! Kill him, and avenge your sister, Tetis!"

Beryl's rousing speech had the appropriate effect on her lower subjects. Nephrite had been present for a number of other situations similar to this. Kunzite had had several underlings back when he had been running London operations. If they hadn't been killed by Sailor V, Beryl had condemned and killed them rather publicly. Every other time, Nephrite had regarded the ritual with a cool distance. After all, what did he care if some incompetent or another was killed? It set a clear example to everyone else, and, as far as he was concerned, got rid of all the riffraff.

But this was different. This was Jadeite.

Nephrite dared to turn his head in Kunzite's direction, perhaps expecting him to speak up as he had done so many times before. Kunzite had risen to Jadeite's aid in the past, but for reasons Nephrite could not fathom, Kunzite held his tongue, glancing at him askance. As usual, the man betrayed nothing, a quality that Nephrite found increasingly exasperating.

Suddenly, a voice rose up from the crowd behind them. Nephrite recognized it as a youma who Kunzite had used in his London operations. One that Sailor V had not killed, but blinded with her crescent beam, rendering it useless as a warrior or anything else for that matter. He still wasn't sure why it was kept around, save for the fact that it was one of the elders, one of the few monsters who had fought in and remembered the so-called Silver Millennium. "Why should we wait for him to come back when we all know he's too afraid to do that? Why don't we find him and kill him? Why not avenge Tetis now?"

Before the horde could get behind this idea, Beryl spoke, her voice grave and quietly threatening. "No. Absolutely no one is allowed to go out and find Jadeite.  
We will wait for him here."

"What if he doesn't come back?" Zoisite asked. Nephrite looked at the man out of the corner of his eye. No one else seemed to notice, but Zoisite was having a hard time remaining solemn in front of the queen. Nephrite knew that the fourth king would love to be laughing at Jadeite's fate. He was no doubt already celebrating his impending advancement in the ranks.

Nephrite very much wanted to kill Zoisite for revelling at the loss of a comrade. More so than all of the other moments where he'd wanted to kill him, and that was saying quite a lot.

"Let him bring about his own destruction," Beryl said coldly, retaking her seat upon the throne. "He has nowhere to run. Our enemies will find him if he does not seek them out himself. I don't care how he meets his end, so long as it is met."

Nephrite somehow stopped himself from shaking his head in disgust. Yes, Beryl had a tendency to kill those who proved themselves to be less than useful, but Jadeite was different. He was far more valuable to them than all of the youma put together. Doing away with him was foolish in Nephrite's opinion. This was merely the Queen blaming Jadeite for Tetis's death, as if he had been the one to choke it from her. There were hundreds of youma to take her place, but Jadeite was an irreplaceable soldier. Nephrite would not see him cast aside because the Queen's affections lay elsewhere.

"Queen Beryl," Nephrite began, his voice inappropriately condescending.

Perhaps to prevent Nephrite from joining Jadeite in the Queen's low regard, Kunzite interrupted Nephrite before anything could really begin. "We must take our leave now," the leader broke in smoothly. "If we do find Jadeite, we shall do as you bid. Good day, your majesty."

With another bow, Kunzite vanished from the court. Though the silver-haired king had not so much as sent him a glance, Nephrite knew he was meant to follow, and though he wanted to stay and argue his case in front of Queen Beryl, Nephrite knew better than to keep Kunzite waiting. So, Nephrite bowed and followed his superior's example, leaving Zoisite on his own.

He reappeared some rooms away in the Shitennou's meeting place, an area hidden from the demons. Nephrite often met Kunzite there when important matters needed to be discussed where prying eyes could not find them. He was rewarded for his assumption, spotting his superior immediately.

"Kunzite, surely you see that this is lunacy," Nephrite spat impetuously. "Tetis was an assassin. Jadeite can do far more good than she ever could."

His leader looked very tired, holding a hand up to his temple. "I am aware, Nephrite. But what would you have me do? Queen Beryl's mind has been made up."

"You've changed it before," Nephrite pointed out with a shrug of his shoulders. "What makes it different now?"

"The difference is that Beryl doesn't even care enough to kill him herself," Kunzite informed Nephrite. "She is leaving it up to the youma or Tuxedo Kamen or any other being capable of doing the deed. Before she has always wanted to wring his neck with her own hands. She's apathetic."

Nephrite raised an eyebrow. "That was apathy?"

Kunzite nodded slightly. "She's mourning Tetis's loss, as much as she can mourn. Jadeite, on the other hand, she couldn't care less about."

Nephrite still wasn't entirely sure that he understood his leader's point, crossing his arms in front of his chest and walking forward. "Does that really make it impossible to change her opinion?"

Kunzite paused, perhaps considering the best way to go about answering his query. A moment later, he said, "The problem is that she's probably already erased him in her mind. He's dead to her, and I lack the power of resurrection."

After pondering this for a moment, Nephrite thought he was beginning to understand. He was still surprised and even a little irritated that Kunzite was not even going to bother to try, but he understood the man's point of view. Jadeite was as good as gone. Besides, both men were well aware what questioning Beryl's decisions could do given her current state of mind. Neither of them was particularly eager to sacrifice himself for Jadeite's sake, and so they would keep silent.

But it still didn't sit well with Nephrite.

"I'm beginning to think that Queen Beryl had it out for Jadeite from the beginning," Nephrite voiced boldly, causing Kunzite to raise his head. "She's always had a shorter temper with him than any of us."

"That's because she expects more from Jadeite than she does from you or Zoisite," Kunzite explained, paying no attention when Nephrite bristled at the implication that he was somehow incapable. "She has lower expectations, but she always expected Jadeite to do much better than he did." The look on Kunzite's face seemed to suggest that he had expected something similar.

Nephrite regarded Kunzite with a mild amount of annoyance and perhaps a bit of envy. Not that he would ever admit it. "She doesn't treat you that way."

"That's because I meet her expectations," Kunzite responded with something of a wry grin.

Nephrite shut his eyes, his fingers tightening against his forearms. A moment later, he said, "Is that why she gave Jadeite the impossible task of killing a Sailor Senshi in one go?"

"Beryl did not give him that assignment."

Nephrite opened his eyes, surprised in a way that he had not been in a very long time. He was arguably the most intuitive of the Shitennou, so it was very hard to shock him. Kunzite was one of the few people who could do that, for not even Nephrite's eyes could read the grey general's motives. "What?" he asked, his voice a bit louder than he intended.

Kunzite straightened and looked Nephrite directly in the eyes, and the auburn-haired general could tell that he had an express purpose in imparting this information. "The order came from me. Beryl had nothing to do with it."

Nephrite felt his mouth fall open for a minute, but he closed his jaw quickly to avoid gaping. "You?" he repeated, as aghast as he had ever been. "But you said that Queen--"

"I told him that because I knew that it would make him far more desperate than if I had given it to him," Kunzite interrupted, still holding Nephrite's gaze. "He saw me as the man who was sparing his life, and that was my own fault for agreeing to do it so readily. At the time, I saw it as a necessity. I considered Jadeite to be a valuable part of our arsenal."

Nephrite stared for a moment. Kunzite had wanted to make him desperate? Kunzite had made him frantic! Nephrite suspected that part of Jadeite's ineffectualness had been due to the impossibility of his last assignment. He had been no less determined, but it did not change the level of difficulty.

"Considered?" Nephrite repeated finally, his voice tight.

Kunzite nodded again. "Jadeite failed me, Nephrite. I gave him that assignment because I knew he could handle it, and he failed. I do not support a failure."

Nephrite felt a very strange pain coming from his stomach that he could not identify. He narrowed his gaze. "And that is why you will not help him."

"Whatever the justification, the outcome is the same," Kunzite said gravely.

It was at that moment that Nephrite knew why Kunzite was telling him this. It was a warning. Kunzite was too valuable to the home base operations to spare in Tokyo just then, and there was no way that Queen Beryl would send Zoisite out ahead of him. That meant that Nephrite was going to take up Jadeite's position in the search for energy and the Ginzuishou. Kunzite was telling him that he would support Nephrite only up to a point, and then he would wash his hands of his subordinate. And when Kunzite abandoned someone, he may as well have left them tied to a pole in the middle of the ever-raging snowstorm.

"Then there really is no hope for Jadeite," Nephrite said, his voice quiet.

Kunzite nodded solemnly. "It would be wise not to forget that, Nephrite."

Nephrite understood his meaning well enough. He was not meant to interfere with or attempt to support Jadeite under any circumstance. Nephrite wanted to tell him that the sentence had been a waste of breath as he had no intention of dying for anyone's sake but his own. Instead, he returned the nod and said nothing.

And that was what Nephrite continued to say. Nothing.

-----

Jadeite reappeared blocks away from the hospital, at an alley into which he and Tetis had lured one of their numerous victims. He could not remember which one it was now, and he wouldn't have cared to spend the energy thinking about it. None of them mattered now, if they ever had at all. What did thirteen or more human deaths matter with Tetis gone?

Tetis was gone. Tetis was dead. Dead, gone. Gone, dead.

Jadeite tangled his hands in his hair, trying to rip his entire scalp from his head. He wanted to spill blood for what had been done, never mind if it was his own. He had not cut her, but her blood still stained his clothing, the black tar liquid mocking him for his incompetence. He should never have let Tetis assume control. He should never have taken her on to begin with. And he sure has hell shouldn't have slept with her.

All the same, he had done those things, and now Tetis didn't even have the luxury of a corpse.

Jadeite heard the sound of someone screaming. It was a wordless, anguished cry. The sort of sound that made one's own vocal cords ache in sympathy. It might have provoked something more if he was capable of empathy, but as it was, he wanted to curse whoever that man was and kick him until blood gushed out of his open mouth.

What did he have to scream about? What had happened to him? What right did he have to bellow as if the floor was crumbling beneath him and the rest of the world was following it to bury him with its weight? What was his guilt? What were the consequences he had to face? What had he ruined so thoroughly that he had to subject Jadeite to the torture of listening to him?

It was several long minutes before he realized that it was his own strangled voice leaping from his aching throat.

He came to an abrupt halt, his hand closing around his neck as if he aimed to choke himself. His fingers momentarily flexed and tightened, as if he had actually considered this an option. It was reflex. Muscle memory. Tetis had been right; he had killed before.

Jadeite yelled again, this time shorter as his voice couldn't take it. He spun around, curling up both of his fists and began propelling them into the wall. He punched and hit as hard as he could. He felt his knuckles connecting with the rough brick and splitting open, his own dark blood staining the stone. It hurt, and he was cognizant of the pain. It didn't stop him from moving his arms over and over again in the same motion. He didn't know when he would stop or if he ever would. He imagined Nephrite dragging him away or Zoisite taunting him from above or Kunzite calmly standing beside him until he was done. He even imagined Tetis standing beside him, blue-toned and transparent, telling him that if she had known he could feel this passionately about her, she would have died a long time ago.

He gave another cry before he fell back, slumping against the opposite wall. He sank to the ground, bleeding and panting. He stared back at where he had been, suddenly wondering who he had become.

He was supposed to be the second-in-command of the Shitennou. He was supposed to be a great soldier. Yet, he had failed at nearly every mission, botched every single assignment. He had lost his temper where once he had learned to keep a level head. He had allowed amateurs, children no less, to best him at every opportunity. He could remember a time when he had earned his position, when he had been worthy of it. He could even remember being arrogant enough to wonder why Kunzite had been selected above him. Hadn't he been just as capable? Just as ruthless? Just as strong? And now what was he?

"Now, I'm dead."

Jadeite could now say this with complete and utter certainty. If Tuxedo Kamen and his band of magic wielding concubines didn't find him soon, then agents of the Dark Kingdom would. No matter what, when either group got their hands on him, he was going to be killed, and it was not likely to be quick.

At one time, he had assumed that he could count on Kunzite coming to his defense, but he knew the man well enough to know that wasn't possible anymore. Jadeite was willing to bet that he probably knew Kunzite even better than Zoisite, though the leader's lover would have never admitted as much. He was certain that Kunzite would know when he had reached the end of his rope, and that Jadeite's time had run out the minute Tetis took her last breath. Kunzite would see no other viable recourse save throwing Jadeite to the wolves. He was loyal to the four, but no one was loyal enough to sacrifice himself. Kunzite would not convince Beryl of Jadeite's questionable worth when it would likely get him killed.

Zoisite certainly wasn't going to come to his defense either. The men had never liked each other. Jadeite had never cared for how Zoisite made his desire to advance so blatantly obvious. It meant that he was a man not to be trusted. Neither Jadeite nor Nephrite ever turned their backs to him at the same time. Zoisite was likely celebrating his imminent demise at that very moment, masking it as a toast to former brotherhood.

That left Nephrite, and while Jadeite almost dared to hope that he would try to do something, it was very unlikely that he would succeed. That was why he had been ranked below Jadeite after all. He wasn't quite as good with the execution and follow through as his superiors. All he had were his intentions, but they wouldn't do Jadeite much good now, would they?

Even if he were better at it, Jadeite knew that it didn't matter. Tetis was dead, and that was all Beryl would see from that moment on. Jadeite was shocked she hadn't already issued her decree to have his carcass brought back to the Dark Kingdom, but he knew that she had not done so yet. If that were true, he would have been dead long ago.

Regardless of her hesitation, he knew that he was doomed.

"Shit!" he cursed, kicking an empty box in the dark, dripping alley he had secluded himself in.

He ran a bloody hand down his face, ignoring the pain. There had to be a reason why he was still alive. Beryl may have been a temperamental harpy, but she could be surprisingly cunning in her fits. True, she wasn't the most forward thinking, but when it came to acts of revenge, it was different. She could be foaming at the mouth and appear barking mad, only to later reveal it had all been a ruse to bring about the downfall of another. She used her trademark fury to her advantage.

To what purpose could she be using it now? Was there something more she wanted from him, even while he was a fugitive? Was this some sort of silent order that he wasn't quite grasping?

Jadeite closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax and breathe for a moment. Her motives couldn't be too hard to deduce. All he had to do was examine the facts before. For one thing, he wasn't dead or in the process of dying. Not literally anyway. For another, he knew that no one had been dispatched from the Dark Kingdom. He would have been able to sense a youma near had they come for him. Then again, Beryl was far more likely to send one of the Shitennou to fetch him, and Jadeite could feel them as easily as his arm. They were not near, nor were they even in Tokyo to pick up where he had left off. Jadeite was all alone, perhaps abandoned to his fate…

And perhaps given one last secret chance.

If he could just kill his enemies, those directly responsible for Tetis's death, then he wouldn't be in this position, would he? No, then it would all be made right.  
Tetis would be avenged and the obstacles impeding their success would be done away with. They would be able to collect energy and search for the legendary Ginzuishou without interruption. They would join Sailor V in her grave, and the remnants of the Silver Millennium would all be dead and buried as it should be.

Jadeite knew what he had to do.

-----

It was nearing dark when the four allies finally managed to make their way back to Hikawa Jinja, which Rei had put forth as a meeting place simply because of the inevitability of someone else pointing it out. They had tried to leave of their own volition, but that same orderly who had warned Mamoru of the danger had attempted to bustle him back in for readmission. While Mamoru was having a bit of a hard time, he was now able to stand on his own two feet without toppling over, and he found this to be sufficient cause for him to go home.

Ami had surreptitiously covered Luna's mouth during the entire transaction.

It had taken them awhile to get Mamoru out of the hospital. After all, given the extent of the injuries he had been dealing with the day before, the idea of him being healthy enough to leave was preposterous; however, eventually the doctors seemed to decide that he was well enough to go on his own. His head was still a bit of a concern, but he would be fine as long as he didn't bang it again. Not to mention, they needed his bed to fill with someone in far worse shape than him after the latest incident. So, they had sent him away cautiously, warning him against too much strenuous activity.

Mamoru had found it very hard not to laugh in their faces.

They were gathered in the living room of Rei's home upon the discovery that her grandfather would be busy doing his own meditation until late into the evening. Mamoru was stretched out on the couch, still suffering a bit from the last few battles he'd participated in. Luna was curled up on his chest, purring loudly enough to make him wonder if she thought that it had some healing properties. Ami and Rei took the floor, sitting on opposite ends of the low table, mirroring the positions they had found themselves in earlier that day. It was a moment before any of them said anything at all.

Actually, it was more accurate to say that it was a small piece of eternity before any of them spoke at all. No one knew quite what to say after their failure. There was nothing more to be said about it of course, and a silent agreement had seemed to pass between them that there was no need to discuss a subject that would never be resolved. This forced silence left them feeling as if there was nothing more to be said about anything, when in fact there were volumes to be spoken about so much more. Except that no one knew where to begin or how to even begin speaking.

Finally, Rei sighed fitfully, drumming her fingernails against the low table. Normally, she didn't mind silences, but this was the sort that she refused to tolerate. "I still don't understand the enemy's motives. What do they want?"

"Energy," Ami rattled off, looking none too chipper, but at the same time relieved. Finally, something else to focus on, and a new problem to solve. "But we don't know what they could possibly be using it for."

"Rei, what was Jadeite doing when you ran into him?" Mamoru asked, glancing over at the two girls.

"Gathering energy, just like Ami said," Rei answered, sounding a bit vexed with his question.

"But Tetis wasn't," Luna surmised, looking contemplative now that the subject had been brought up. "That's odd, isn't it? All the other youma were solely interested in taking energy. Murder might be a consequence, but it wasn't their aim."

"Draining their energy could kill them," Rei pointed out.

"But it hadn't," Mamoru muttered, frowning. "All of the papers said that their deaths appeared similar to the earlier victims of what they're calling exhaustion.  
It's just this time they'd been sucked dry."

"Until they got to the hospital," Rei continued. "Then she just started killing people out right."

Ami took a sip of the water Rei had graciously provided to settle her nerves. "Tetis called herself an assassin. She seemed rather focused on it as a matter of fact. Just as focused as the other youma have been on collecting energy up until this point."

"Jadeite also said something about the whole thing being Tetis's idea," Rei added. "He seemed… very adamant that he not be associated with it."

"And he went around collecting energy," Mamoru mused, furrowing his eyebrows. "So clearly he thought that doing that was more important than participating in what Tetis was doing."

Rei shook her head. "I'm telling you, he wanted nothing to do with that."

Luna shifted her weight a bit on Mamoru's chest, not noticing how he winced in pain when she did so. "What made them suddenly change tactics like that and send out Tetis in the first place? If she was an assassin, then her function in the Kingdom was to kill. They wouldn't dispatch her unless they wanted her to kill, something they've never expressed an interest in before."

Ami blinked, looking up. Her gaze went a bit distant, making the room go hazy. A moment later, it clicked. "They changed their tactics when they changed their objective. They, or Tetis at least, didn't just want energy anymore. She wanted something else."

"And she didn't bother to tell Jadeite about it," Rei added. "He left a trail of people behind him. That's how I was able to figure out where he was in the first place."

"The question is, what was their new objective?" Mamoru queried, fearing he had a fairly good idea.

"Kill us, of course," Ami voiced in the same way she answered meaningless trivia questions in history class. Then she reached forward and took another, longer drink of water.

Mamoru turned to stare at Ami, his fears confirmed. He mulled over this very real possibility for a moment before speaking again. "We're in the way," Mamoru murmured. "They wanted to fix that."

"But what are we in the way of?" Luna questioned again. "What could they possibly be gathering human energy for?"

Mamoru pondered this a moment and then shrugged. "Maybe they need energy to make something work. A weapon perhaps."

Rei wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Human fuel? That's revolting."

"So is murdering innocent people," he reminded her, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're not exactly dealing with people burdened with overdeveloped senses of morality. They're evil, and there's no getting around that."

Luna flicked her tail back and forth, her whiskers twitching. "It does make you wonder. What could they need that much energy for?"

"Nothing good," Mamoru reiterated.

"And nothing small," Ami added wearily. "I... I've been doing some research lately. Trying to shed some light on what's been happening. Tokyo is apparently not the first city they attacked."

The other three in the room sat up when they heard this, silently prompting the girl to continue.

Ami didn't frown, but she didn't look particularly thrilled to be imparting this Information. "It wasn't highly publicized for obvious reasons, but I was able to access some information not generally released to the public with the mini-computer." Ami cleared her throat, perhaps embarrassed at admitting to less than legal transactions or maybe just preparing herself for what was likely to be an unpleasant explanation.

"It seems that from November of 1991 up until a few months ago, there were frequent 'strange occurrences' in London. It was just the same as it is here. People reported incidents of seeing monsters stalking the London streets, and shortly thereafter, people began turning up at the hospital, victims of apparent exhaustion. Eventually, the demons began to get a bit more obvious in their attacks. At the time, no one was acting against them."

"At the time?" Rei repeated. "You mean someone did try to stop them?"

Ami nodded. "And they obviously succeeded." She paused, twiddling her fingers for a moment before she spoke again. "This is the part where I haven't quite managed to distinguish between urban legend and historical fact. After the attacks on the city began to get more and more frequent, people started filing more reports about seeing something else entirely. They said that a monster would be about to attack them, when a girl appeared and fought them off."

"A girl?" Luna asked, her ears picking up. "Another Senshi?"

Ami swallowed. "Well... You see, people said she called herself... Sailor V."

Mamoru raised an eyebrow, scoffing a bit. "The cartoon character? Do you think maybe they'd taken a few blows to the head?"

"It's actually possible," Ami pressed, clenching her hands together. "You see, Sailor V wasn't even created until after her creator had vacationed in London. Many speculate that she heard about the legend of the phantom warrior, or that perhaps she was rescued by Sailor V herself." Ami looked up, and upon seeing the looks she was being given, she pressed on without pausing again. "Whatever the case, and whether you believe that bit or not, I can tell you that her alleged presence seemed to slow down the progress of these attacks considerably. Fewer people were being hospitalized, but more were phoning Scotland Yard and even Interpol about the masked heroine who had saved their life."

"It could have just been a reverse form of mass hysteria," Rei dismissed.

"And it could be a true sighting," Luna countered, her ear twitching until Mamoru reached over and scratched it for her. "We are looking for two other Senshi. It's possible that she's one of them."

"Well, she isn't doing us much good now, is she?" Rei asked, sounding mildly resentful of the idea that there was another Sailor Senshi avoiding the duty she had been dragged into.

"You said earlier that she had succeeded," Luna interrupted thoughtfully. "How did she get them out of London?"

Ami sighed, rubbing her temple and remembering the hours and hours of frustrated, fruitless research that had left her with nothing but speculation, conjecture, and possibly the insane ramblings of an obsessed fanboy. "That's where everything gets very unclear. You see, the Sailor V sightings and these attacks seemed to stop at around the same time, but no one is entirely sure how that came about or even if the two events have any connection at all. In fact, from what I can tell, the attacks stopped when Sailor V disappeared, not the other way around."

Mamoru sat up a little, intrigued. "She disappeared? You mean... she just vanished into thin air?"

Ami shrugged. "There's some speculation that she was killed and somehow took the enemy down with her. Obviously we know that isn't the case since we're dealing with the leftovers."

"Is it the leftovers?" Rei asked, her voice shaking a bit. "Or is it the main assault?"

"I don't think we've suffered the whole of their capabilities yet," Mamoru suggested grimly. He reached up and started petting Luna again, gleaning some sense of comfort from her. "If what Ami says is true, then they basically have an endless supply of youma at their disposal. They could probably raise an entire army against us if they wanted. In fact, I'm rather surprised they haven't. I don't think the human race would stand a chance if they launched a direct, frontal assault."

Rei grasped at the necklace she was wearing, pulling the charm back and forth across the chain. "Then why haven't they? It's obvious that we wouldn't be of much use in that sort of battle, and our armies aren't prepared to deal with them. Especially if there are more youma like Tetis around."

"I suppose that's what they need the energy for," Ami said nervously, sounding a bit ill herself.

Rei and Mamoru paled to match Ami's current pallor, exchanging worried glances with one another. That was not the sort of thing anyone wanted to hear.

Luna swallowed and said, "Do you have any idea of how close they are to achieving their goal?"

Ami took another gulp of water before she spoke. "In the seven months that the Dark Kingdom was active in London, nearly three thousand of its residents were subjected to some sort of attack. I should note that those are just the statistics that Interpol actually released, though they masked it as the delusions of people suffering from acute exhaustion. I won't get into the probabilities of how accurate those numbers are."

Mamoru, who had taken a class in statistics the year before, felt his mouth go dry. "What about here?"

"Nothing official has been released, and I haven't been able to get my hands on much that isn't so official," Ami admitted. "But I do know that people are starting to admit to there being several, smaller scale attacks that occurred prior to the Osa-P incident. They date all the way back to mid-April."

"April!" Rei gasped, her eyes widening. "But that means that--"

"It means that they'd already begun shifting their base of operations," Mamoru marveled. "They infiltrated slowly, and no one bothered to take notice. They may have been chased out of London, but that didn't matter. They never intended to stay in London."

Luna shook her head. "But then why did they go there in the first place?"

"There must be something else they want," Ami said. "Something even more important than the energy."

Rei straightened, glancing out the window to the city outside. The moon was just beginning to rise, chasing the sun below the horizon and beginning to cast a ghostly light over the metropolitan city. "And it must be here."

-----

Mamoru had not slept well that night. As a matter of fact, he had been entirely incapable of sleeping until four in the morning, only to wake up three hours later.  
When Luna asked him what was wrong, he said that it was the pain. They both knew he wasn't being entirely truthful, but she held her tongue for once and left him to his thoughts.

The revelations from the impromptu meeting were not welcome. He did not want to think of how the enemy, the Dark Kingdom (whoever they were), had done so much damage to an unprotected city. Additionally, he did not want to think about how its sole protector had been a girl rumoured to have been even younger than Ami and Rei if Ami's research had any basis in fact. And he certainly did not want to think of the possibility that she had died, especially if she had been an ally. He almost hoped that she hadn't existed at all, but then what did that mean for London?

Even that wasn't comparable to the havoc that Tetis had wrought upon the hospital and several other perfectly innocent bystanders. He should have been ready for it. They had been killing the youma, so it made sense that the youma would begin to strike back accordingly. He should have figured on it, should have counted on it, should have come up with a plan to stop it – something!

Of course, the rational part of his mind told him that he was being ridiculous. As Luna had stressed, he didn't have that kind of power. Mamoru didn't have that much power at all.

Yet another part of him, the part he had a tendency to ignore in all other cases but this, told him that he should have been able to do something. No amount of silencing or stifling could make him forget about it.

In spite of his insomnia, he didn't pull himself out of bed until noon. Even then, it was a slow, slightly painful process. Mamoru flexed his stiff muscles and popped a few joints, massaging the shoulder he had injured the day before in his haste to be of aid. He was a little sore, but otherwise, miraculously fine.

Ready in case something else happened.

Luna felt the bed shift beneath her, her eyes popping open at the first sign of movement. By the time she was done stretching, he was done inspecting, so she felt free to speak. "I take it you're feeling better?"

Mamoru didn't answer immediately because he wasn't, not really. But she wasn't talking about what he would have been talking about, so he really had no choice but to answer an affirmative. "Well enough."

She nodded in approval and hopped off the bed. She began to pad into the kitchen, but paused when she saw that he wasn't following her. Luna gave a little sigh and turned back, stopping once she was at his feet. "Mamoru..." she began cautiously. "I'd never be arrogant enough to say that I know how you feel."

"Thank you," he muttered sincerely. He'd always hated it when people said that. He probably would have been more than a little miffed to hear it from a cat.

Luna bowed her head for a moment. "Mamoru, I saw a lot of death in the last days of the Silver Millennium. I still don't remember that much, and I certainly don't remember it clearly. I do know that the fall was painstakingly slow. We would not back down, and they would not relinquish. The last days of the Moon Kingdom were filled with horror and gore and unspeakable amounts and kinds of death.

"And I couldn't do anything but watch." She closed her eyes, recalling more with each passing moment. "I was a guardian, not a warrior. Though I knew something of the arts of war, I did not know enough to be of aid to the Senshi or the Queen. I helplessly watched hundreds, thousands of people die without cause and without ceremony."

Mamoru swallowed, suddenly realizing how much worse it had been back then when the enemy had been at full strength. He could almost hear the screams and sounds of crumbling foundations in his ears. For a moment, he thought he did, and then convinced himself that he was imagining things.

"It doesn't make sense, Mamoru," Luna intoned. "It doesn't, and it's never going to. You can wish it away as much as you want, and you can blame yourself as much as you want. It doesn't change anything." She looked up, her liquid eyes flashing. "Action is the only thing that changes things, and unlike me, you're capable of that."

Mamoru stared at her for an immeasurable amount of time. Then the corners of his mouth turned slightly upward, not really smiling, but it was a much needed change. He bent down and patted the cat fondly on the head. After a moment he said, "I'm taking a shower and then heading over to see Motoki."

He didn't say it, but he thought of how much better everything would be after he spoke with Motoki. The blond had that talent.

"He's important to you, isn't he?" Luna asked, not necessarily chiding, but with some odd tone in her voice that made him wonder if she disapproved.

Mamoru narrowed his eyes, looking over his shoulder and questioning, "Is that a bad thing?"

Luna shook her head. "Not at all. But..." she trailed off, unsure of what more to say. "Sometimes those who are close to us are the ones who suffer."

Mamoru regarded her for a moment before nodding in understanding. He did not answer her, but instead turned and walked into the bathroom. Before he opened the door, her voice interrupted him again. "When you go, don't forget to take the communicator."

Mamoru paused, glancing back to the endtable in the hall where he had the new device next to his keys. After they had arrived at the conclusion that there was indeed something in Tokyo that the enemy was after, Luna had taken the opportunity to suggest that the group remain in constant contact. She had given them each a device that passed as a calculator under some amount of scrutiny. Of course, someone was bound to wonder why Mamoru had a pink calculator, which was why he never planned on having it out in public if he could help it.

"Right," he answered, shutting the door behind him.

Minutes later, he was standing under a stream of scalding hot water, his forehead pressed against the tile. The pipes were squealing from the heat and force of the water, but he put it out of his mind. He just breathed and repeated the same words like a broken record.

"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this."

He hoped that saying it enough would make it true.

-----

Usagi had been in something of a funk ever since Mizuno Ami had, for whatever reason, stopped talking to her. Her friends had tried to convince her that Ami wasn't worth her time, but Usagi had never had anyone go to such lengths to avoid her before. She didn't see the girl genius at lunch, in the hallways, or even in the toilets. The only evidence of her existence was her continuous ranking at the top of their class. Otherwise, Usagi might have wondered if the girl had dropped off the face of the Earth.

However, Usagi's mood was considerably brighter that day. In fact, Usagi could not recall a more perfect day. There was a spring in her step, and she had a very upbeat song stuck in her head. She had even been able to stay awake during the classes she all but brought a pillow for in advance.

And it was all for the sake of her dear little brother, Shingo.

The shorter boy groaned comically, whirling around to glare at his older sister. He curled up a fist as if restraining himself from hitting her with the full extent of his rage. "Do you have to keep singing that annoying song over and over again!"

Usagi looked down at him, surprised at his attitude. "Shingo, I will have you know that this song is absolutely beautiful. It's about true love and soulmates and--"

Shingo rolled his eyes. "Usagi-baka. That song isn't about love at all! You don't even know all the words."

Usagi huffed indignantly. "I do so know all the words! Those are just my favorite lines!"

Shingo didn't seem at all convinced. "Yeah, right."

Taking on the role of the older sister, and therefore the more powerful of the two siblings, Usagi leaned forward, prodding Shingo in the chest with her nail. "Look here, Shingo. Mom already explained to you that I am in charge today. That means that you have to do exactly what I say, or I'll take you home and you won't get to see Mika at all today."

Shingo's eyes widened in shock. It seemed he had either forgotten about this part of the bargain, or he had never expected Usagi to implement it in the first place. He had begged his mother to let him go over to his friend Mika's house that afternoon, finding that she was suddenly less receptive to the idea. Ikuko had at last agreed when Usagi was made a chaperone for the event and instructed to take the children anywhere they wanted to go as long as Shingo behaved himself.

After a moment, his glare melted into a pout as he kicked the sidewalk with the toe of his shoe. "I don't see why you have to come anyway. Everyone knows that I'm the good kid."

"Do you WANT to go home?"

Shingo sighed, exasperated. "Fine. You're the good kid, but that still doesn't change the fact that I never needed a chaperone to go over to Mika's before. Why do I have to have one now?"

Usagi wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question, so she wound up stammering for a few minutes. Shingo soon became tired of this and turned his back on her dismissively, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts and muttering to himself.

The truth was, Ikuko had told Usagi exactly why Shingo needed a chaperone the night before when the subject first came up. After all, at the time it hadn't necessarily been Usagi's idea of a good time either.

"But Mom!" Usagi had whined, sticking out her lower lip in what she felt was an utterly irresistible facial expression. "I don't want to hang out with the brat all afternoon! I have important things to do!"

Ikuko had looked nonplussed. "Oh. Such as?"

Usagi had looked up at the ceiling and began counting them off on her fingers. "Well, I need to see if Mrs. Osaka decided to have a jewelry sale again, I have to go to the arcade, I have to get some ice cream, and I'll probably have detention again for-- I mean--"

"You will most certainly not have detention again," Ikuko had snapped, waving her spatula in Usagi's face. "You will take your brother to Mika's, and you won't leave his side no matter how much he begs you."

Usagi had stamped her foot a little before she could stop herself. "But why! He's not old enough to do anything that bad."

Ikuko had frowned, her features softening into a worried expression. She folded her arms across her chest and looked down, her voice becoming softer. "It's not about Shingo doing something wrong..."

"But then what..." Usagi's voice had trailed off as she remembered those two monster attacks she'd been caught up in. She hadn't told her family about them of course, but subsequent attacks had been picked up by the media. Now the front page headlines were almost always about sightings of either the demons or one of the city's defenders - Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Mercury, or the new soldier called Sailor Mars. At first, people had treated it as sensationalism.

That weekend's deadly incidents at the hospital had changed everything. No one could deny the truth any more. Usagi had heard that two of her classmates had moved away already, and another was planning to leave the following week. Everyone was terrified of this new threat to their way of life. Everyone was terrified of the unknown. People looked around as they walked down the street, waiting for one of their fellow citizens to transform into some monster not even hell could dream up. Usagi didn't greet her neighbors as she got home from school anymore. Even Crown Arcade was emptier now that the boys who went in to play their fighting video games were discovering it in their reality. No one felt safe.

"Oh."

Ikuko had nodded, knowing then that her daughter understood. She looked up, laying her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "You have to stay with him, Usagi. You have to keep an eye on him and keep him out of trouble. I'm... I'm terrified for both of you now. All these monsters, people being killed... I can't let your brother go out alone.

"But I won't let him stop living at all."

That was why Usagi had agreed to go, even convincing herself that she would enjoy it. As annoying as he was, Usagi didn't know what she'd do without Shingo.

"Hey, Usagi."

She turned at the sound of her name, her face lighting up when she saw who it was. Usagi hadn't even realized that they were near the Crown Arcade, but there was Motoki, his hands in his apron pockets and a wide grin on his face. Usagi sighed contentedly, feeling her heart melt just a little bit at the sight of him. She waved cheerfully, bounding over to him in spite of Shingo's reaction.

"Oh, great. Now I'm never going to get to Mika's," he muttered, pulling the bill of his cap down over his head and sulking.

"Motoki!" Usagi squealed, ignoring her brother as usual. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Motoki said, smiling cheerfully. "Aren't you coming in today? I was all set to fix you your usual triple chocolate fudge sundae with whipped cream, cookie dough, marshmallows, cherries, and rainbow sprinkles."

Usagi's heart fluttered at the knowledge that he knew her order to perfection. "I can't today, Motoki. You see, my brother has a date with his girlfriend, and--"

Shingo turned bright red. "SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"--my mother wants to make sure they're not up to any hanky-panky. So, I graciously volunteered to accompany them."

Shingo growled, pulling at his cap so hard that Usagi was certain he was going to rip it in two. "USAGI-BAKA! You didn't volunteer! Mom made you!"

Usagi glowered at her younger brother. "Shingo, you should show some respect for your big sister."

"Well, maybe if my sister weren't such a big fat COW--"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!"

"Geez, the whole family has a set of lungs on them, don't they?"

Usagi recognized that cool, superior voice instantly and was filled with righteous indignation. She swirled around, pigtails flying around and hitting Shingo in the mouth. Motoki had to keep him from choking on the blonde locks.

"You!" she accused.

Mamoru smirked a little. "Haven't we had this conversation already?"

Usagi pointed at him now, and Mamoru could swear that her pigtails stuck straight out behind her when she did so. "You are the most irritating person on the face of the planet! You pop up behind me, insult me, and you steal my friends!"

Mamoru was about to make some snide comment or other, when the last bit of her speech caught him off guard. He blinked several times and said, "Steal your friend? When did I ever steal a--"

"I'm talking about Ami!" Usagi shouted, her voice wavering a little. "Ever since she left school with you, she's been avoiding me. What did you do, Mamoru? Did you tell her something about me that made her hate me?"

"What?" Mamoru asked, completely taken aback. "Odango, don't be ridiculous. Of course I didn't--"

"Stop calling me that!" Usagi shouted, her hands curling up at her sides so that her nails dug into her soft palms. "I've told you not to, but you do it anyway! Why? Why do you have to be so mean to me all the time? What did I ever do to you except hit you on the head with my test paper?"

Well, she had also made him late to class, drop all his papers, and lose his essay on the Bronte sisters, but he decided that now was not the best time to mention all of that. Mamoru sighed, holding up his hands in an attempt to calm her. "Look, Oda... I didn't say anything to Ami about you. I knew her from earlier. I don't know why she's avoiding you, but--"

"You're lying!" Usagi yelled again, attracting more and more attention from various spectators. She was starting to cry, which really only made her that much more sympathetic and made Mamoru feel that much worse about himself. "You hate me, don't you? That's why you told her those things about me. Isn't it?"

"I don't--"

Mamoru didn't get a chance to finish as Shingo stepped in front of his sister, folding his arms across his chest resolutely. "What have you got against Usagi, mister?"

This had long since passed the point of ridiculous. Mamoru turned to Motoki for help, but he seemed to be occupying himself by looking very intently at a cloud directly overhead. Mamoru decided to be sure to remember this the next time Motoki wanted help when he and Reika had one of their spats.

He turned back to Shingo, rather wary that the boy would decide to kick him in the shins as children his age were wont to do. He sighed and said, "All right. For the last time, I do not have anything against your sister."

"Then why are you so mean to her all the time?" Shingo asked, speaking as if Mamoru was encroaching on his sacred duty of being an annoying little brother.

"Did you ever think that maybe she's taking it too personally?" Mamoru countered.

"Did you ever think that maybe you're the one who should behave differently if she is?" Shingo retorted.

Mamoru was about to respond when it hit him again. The same migraine that he'd had during his first two battles. He clutched his head and backed up to lean against the doorjamb. He felt his veins pulsating around his forehead as pain exploded in front of his eyes. He felt everything swirling around him, slipping out from underneath him.

Something was coming.

Shingo nodded, satisfied that he'd won the fight. Then he grabbed Usagi's wrist and started to pull her off towards Mika's house, saying, "Come on. There's no point in hanging around here."

But Usagi hung back. "Mamoru?" she questioned, sounding concerned. "Are you all right?"

This drew Motoki back to the conversation. He was at Mamoru's side instantly, a hand positioned on his friend's shoulder. "Mamoru?" He narrowed his eyes and took a closer look at Mamoru's face, drawing back when he saw the shade of his skin. "Maybe you ought to go lie down. You really don't look well."

"I..." Mamoru forced out, finding it was very difficult to talk when his head felt like it was collapsing in on itself. "I think I'll just... go inside for a minute"  
He handed Motoki the keys to his car, feeling that the man would need them to get himself and the Tsukinos out of harm's way should the battle take place at that spot. "Hold on to these for a minute."

"Sure..." Motoki murmured, his voice trailing off as Mamoru stumbled back into the arcade. The fair boy looked after his friend for a moment, shaking his head. "Something's been wrong with him for awhile now."

Usagi looked up at him, raising her eyebrows sweetly. "Oh? What do you think it is?"

Motoki sighed, hanging his head a little. "I haven't the slightest idea."

-----

Mamoru barely made it to the bathroom in time.

He stood coughing over the sink, leaning heavily on his palms as the world came back to him. He turned on the tap as soon as he could move his hands properly, washing the evidence of his sickness down the drain and swallowing as much water as he could hold in his palm. His head was pounding so much that he thought his brain might fall out of his ears in protest. A moment later, he looked up in the mirror at the haggard, pale face staring back at him. Well, as much as he could see anyway. The migraine was so intense that he was having significant trouble seeing straight. Everything looked lighter and fuzzier around the edges and he couldn't focus on anything without getting dizzy again.

He knew precisely what this meant. It had felt just like before the jewelry shop and plant store attacks. It was an intense pain that made him unable to see, and yet it sharpened his focus on his mission. Someone was in danger. Someone needed his help. And he couldn't ignore that for any reasons that he could drum up.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the communicator, pushing the buttons he hoped he was supposed to push. Luna hadn't exactly explained how the things worked when she handed them out, as was her way. He was rewarded when he heard Ami's and Rei's voices come over the line a few seconds later.

"What is it Mamoru?" Ami's voice came over hushed and nervous. She must still have been at juku.

"Another attack?" Rei asked, brusque and irritated. Hearing about his illness being the only basis for his call was probably not going to make her very happy.

Still, he wasn't relieved when he heard the screaming start.

"I'm at the Crown Arcade. I don't know what's happening, but it's nothing good. Get down here. Now."

Mamoru ended the transmission and looked back into his reflection, watching with growing rage and apprehension as a mask materialized over his eyes.

-----

Mere seconds after Mamoru had gone inside, the trio heard the shrill screech of tires sound out from behind them. They spun in time to see a car drive directly into a streetlamp, the hood popping open and steam emitting from underneath it. They could just make out the driver of the car slumped over his steering wheel as if he had been thrown forward by the force of the crash. People immediately began to run over to see if the driver was all right. Usagi was about to go when Motoki grabbed her arm.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes widening at the way his face was beginning to tighten.

"The driver was like that before the car hit."

Usagi blinked, not comprehending his meaning. Then a woman screamed from next to the car as a hand shot out from the driver's backseat. It was abruptly cut off when the gloved hand closed around her neck, lifting her up and throwing her into the side of a building. The bricks cracked where she struck them. She slipped down to the pavement, leaving a streak of blood in her wake.

Usagi screamed, and Motoki instantly grabbed both her and Shingo and pulled them down behind Mamoru's car. It was big enough to give them sufficient cover from whatever was happening, but low enough so that they could still see what was going on. Motoki put a hand over Usagi's mouth, silencing her. He pulled it away after a moment, finding it wet with tears.

Seconds later, all of the spectators who had been crowding around the vehicle began to run away as fast as their legs would carry them. Most of them had the good sense to dive behind cars, buildings, or some form of cover, expecting the worst and fearing they would not be able to get away from whatever horror resided inside the car. However, a select few perhaps did not automatically assume that some demon had come to take them. Or if they did, maybe all they wanted to do was get away as fast as they could.

A faintly blue tinged light shot out of the car before the murderer emerged. Those few who had not immediately dived for cover were struck down instantly. None of them even had a chance to scream. They fell, and everyone who could still see this horror take place naturally assumed the worst.

Usagi was whimpering quietly, holding on to Shingo's shoulders as tightly as her hands would allow. He didn't seem to be responding at all. He hadn't even twitched since Motoki had dragged them behind the car.

Now Usagi wished that she had gotten detention. She wished that she would have gotten sick or found some other excuse to stay home because then Shingo wouldn't have been able to go over to Mika's house. And she wished that she had never seen that Chiba Mamoru! If he hadn't made her stop, they would already be there by now and out of harm's way.

Her anger melted away like a freak snow on a summer's day when the man from inside the car emerged. She couldn't say that she had ever seen him before, but she knew well enough to be terrified of him. With shaggy blond hair and a crazed, desperate look in his eyes, Usagi instantly felt a stab of fear inside her heart. Her body began to ache with terror. She couldn't even tremble or gasp. All she could do was stare and start to choke on her breath.

Motoki's hand fell on her arm. "It's all right," he whispered. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you or your brother."

At that moment, Motoki looked up to get a better view of the man over the hood of the car. Then Usagi looked at his curved nose, strong jaw, and set brow. Her heart lifted again, and she dared to hope. Could Motoki be Tuxedo Kamen, the masked hero who had saved her life twice now? Would he don his cape and top hat and fly to the rescue, vanquishing this enemy just like he had the others?

"Now hear this, citizens of Juuban," the man called out cruelly. "I am Jadeite, the second of the Shitennou from the Dark Kingdom, enemy of those so-called heroes you know as Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Mars. They have foiled me too many times now, so I will take drastic action.

"I will kill each and every citizen in this immediate area and beyond until my enemies arrive to face me for a fight to the death."

Usagi grabbed Motoki's arm, holding him to her. If he was Tuxedo Kamen, she wasn't going to let him go and possibly get hurt by this madman. Surely he was joking. Surely he wasn't really a murderer.

Jadeite glanced around, rubbing his hands together with sickening glee. "Now then, do I have any volunteers? Any suicidal teenagers out there? Anyone with a death wish?" He laughed, and it made Usagi's ears hurt. "Come now. I promise it's for a good cause. It only hurts for a minute..."

A man in a tan suit had decided to try and sneak away while Jadeite was distracted with his tirade. Unfortunately, he had severely underestimated Jadeite's instincts. The general instantly sensed the movement, fliging out his left hand. He struck this man in the back. For only one second out of thousands, he uttered the most terrible scream Usagi had ever heard in her life. She covered one of Shingo's ears on instinct, wincing and burying her head in Motoki's shoulder.

Jadeite grinned. "As you can see, it only hurts for a minute."

Usagi closed her mouth around a sob, clutching Motoki's arm with both hands. Were all those poor people really dead? And for what? What had they ever done to this man?

Why had she taken Shingo this way? Why had he insisted on going to Mika's that day? Why did she have to die now that she'd been saved twice?

"I don't want to..." Usagi whimpered miserably.

Motoki patted her head instinctively, still looking out at Jadeite. He was waiting for his opportunity to run with Usagi and Shingo in tow. However, he was not about to allow himself or his friends to end up like those who had already died. So he swallowed very hard and didn't allow himself to show that he was close to tears himself. "Try to be quiet, Usagi."

Usagi wasn't sure how she had kept from screaming this far. She felt one ready to rise and erupt from her throat, but she was holding it back. It was getting harder and harder to do, so she tightened her grip on Motoki's arm. It was hurting him, but he didn't say a word.

Jadeite sighed testily. "Do I have to go looking for you?" He shook his head, throwing up his hands in a gesture of exasperation. "All right then. I didn't want to cause more property damage than I had to, but if you insist." He turned around to a car a little ways up the street. There were two girls sitting there from the private Catholic school in the area. They were weeping openly and holding onto each other. Usagi could see that one of them was holding onto a rosary.

"No..." she whispered terribly. "No, please..."

Jadeite flung his hand out but raised it up this time. The car they were hiding behind was lifted off the ground. The girls looked up in awe and horror, emitting a shriek that could have shattered glass as Jadeite lowered his arm in judgment. The car came speeding back down, but one of the girls threw her weight forward, carrying the pair of them out of harm's way. Then they scrambled to their feet and began to run for their lives, crying out for someone to help them.

Jadeite was about to hit them again, when something even more terrible happened. Usagi hadn't been holding on to Shingo for some time now. She hadn't even been paying attention to what he had been doing. She hadn't seen the childish fear, the adrenaline pumping, and the instinct kicking in. She didn't notice when he shifted so that he was on the balls of his feet, inching over towards the other end of the car. In fact, she didn't notice much of anything until he gave a grunt, pushing himself off the car and running for his life.

"SHINGO!" Usagi cried before she could stop herself.

Of course, this attracted Jadeite's attention. He forgot about the schoolgirls and instead set his sights on this younger boy.

Motoki noticed the Dark King's attention turn. He sprang to his feet, barked at Usagi to stay down, and took off after Shingo. It was all Usagi could do not to scream for him as well, but she didn't want to mess things up anymore than she already had. So she knelt there and wept, desperately wanting to look away, but unable to so much as breathe.

Shingo was fast, but Motoki was able to catch up with him in a few long strides. He grabbed the boy and instantly shoved Shingo behind his own body just as Jadeite was arriving in front of them. Motoki glared at Jadeite bravely, still holding on to Shingo's arms to keep him from running again. He held up his chin and offered a challenge.

"Forget about the kid. Let him go."

"And take you instead?" Jadeite questioned. "How stupid your sense of honor is. And how stupid you are to ask me that to begin with. I already told you, everyone in Juuban will die if they have to. It seems you're next!"

Jadeite drew his hand back, prepared to strike. Judging by the heft he was putting into it, it would be enough to kill Motoki and Shingo in one fell swoop.

"NO!" Usagi screamed in agony, her tears catching on the wind and flying off her lashes like falling stars.

Motoki shut his eyes, bracing himself to take the whole of the blast. He would not break his promise.

Suddenly, an arrow shot through the air. Or at least it sounded like an arrow. Jadeite cried out in pain as it struck his hand, stopping the assault for the time being. Usagi could just barely make out the shape of what had hit him embedded in the pavement through her teary eyes.

A perfect red rose.

Two more larger shots of color came falling from the sky. One blue and one red.

Sailor Mercury placed herself in front of Motoki and Shingo, planting her feet and bending her arms in a battle stance. She glared at Jadeite reproachfully, her normally sweet voice lowered in disgust and rage. "How dare you harm all these innocent people just to attract our attention! Every life is important and has value! I won't forgive you for treating human beings like such trash!"

Then Sailor Mars landed in front of Mercury, holding out her left arm to block the three of them from Jadeite. Her heels clicked against the pavement, resembling the crackling fire in her eyes. She curled her lip and nearly growled, "If you wanted to face us, you should have called us out like a man instead of attacking children like a coward! You have shown your true colors, Jadeite, and rest assured, we will not forget them today!"

Finally, a great black thing floated down from the sky. It was Tuxedo Kamen, his midnight dark cape billowing in the wind. He stood in front of all of them, hiding them from view. He covered them like an eclipse, brandishing his cane in front of him. He looked furious yet strangely composed. "Jadeite, if it is a fight to the death you want, then that is what you shall get. But rest assured that three of us shall walk off this battlefield today. Maybe we won't go unscathed and maybe we'll need to drag or carry ourselves away from it, but none of us three shall die here."

Jadeite laughed, and Usagi covered her ears again. She couldn't stand that sound.

"Please! Empty threats from a scared little boy. I will be victorious today. I will carry your bodies back to the Dark Kingdom's stronghold where I will be rewarded and heralded as a hero! I will regain my place as an honorable Shitennou! You shall be my deliverance, and Tetis shall be avenged!"

Jadeite rushed forward, yelling like a barbarian, blue eyes wild and hungry for blood. Tuxedo Kamen came forth as well, brandishing his cane like a sword. It turned out that this was good foresight as Jadeite conjured what looked like a green stone sword out of midair. The duel had begun.

Mars looked over her shoulder and shouted, "Get everyone out of the area and check the ones he struck down. I'll help him until you get back."

Mercury nodded in understanding and turned to Motoki and Shingo, who seemed to have been too terrified to move. The Soldier of Ice began to hurry them away, not trusting Jadeite enough to give him an innocent target to vent his frustrations on. She pushed Motoki's shoulder and said, "Get him and Usagi out of here as fast as you can. Whatever you do, don't look back and don't wait for anyone else."

Mercury regretted using Usagi's name, but the young man didn't seem to have taken any notice of it in his panicked state. He began to move when his pale face went paler. "But my friend, he's--"

"Taken care of," she interrupted, pushing him more urgently. She had others to tend to. She couldn't spend all of her time with Motoki. "Don't worry about him. Just take these two and go. Now!"

Thankfully, Motoki didn't need any further prompting. He grabbed Shingo's wrist with one hand, reaching into his pocket for the keys Mamoru had asked him to hold. Mamoru had guessed that the trio might need to make a speedy getaway if trouble came about. Mercury stood there long enough to see Motoki pull a shaking, sobbing Usagi into Mamoru's car. She allowed herself a small sigh of relief before she went to check on the victims of Jadeite's assault, praying that he had a penchant for exaggerating.

Meanwhile, Sailor Mars and Tuxedo Kamen were having a harder time facing the one member of the Shitennou than they would have expected. After hearing that he was the second-ranked, they were not particularly looking forward to facing the first any time soon. He had clearly been trained for situations in which he was outnumbered, and he had no doubt done well.

Jadeite threw all of his weight behind his sword, twisting it so that he was no longer coming at Tuxedo Kamen from above but from below. The tip of the blade nicked his chest, causing the masked hero to throw himself back in order to avoid further, more serious damage.

Mars was quick to take his place, taking out her blessed ofunda. Her concentration was precise, narrowed, and quick, giving Jadeite no time to attack her before her violet eyes flew open. She thrust her hand out with a cry. "Aku Ryo... Tai Sen!"

Jadeite growled, lifting his heavy sword as if it were little more than a withered stick. He swung it through the air, slicing the wind and the strips of paper with ease. He heard Mars gasp and saw her stagger in shock as any hope of immediate defeat evaporated before her. Jadeite smirked, holding his sword in his right hand, leaping forward to finish her off.

A gloved fist halted his advance, catching him in the jaw. Jadeite snarled, narrowing his eyes and turning to see another of Tuxedo Kamen's hands come to do the same. The blond reached up with his free hand, blocking it and twisting it down painfully. Then his sword came up to run the man through.

He saw a flash of red come at him from out of his peripheral vision. He quickly switched tactics, kicking Tuxedo Kamen in the ribs and sending him flying in another direction. Then he brought his sword around, presumably to cut Sailor Mars off at the knee. Unfortunately, she anticipated this, uttering little more than a gasp as she kicked her other leg up, using his shoulder for leverage to propel into a back flip that only gave her narrow escape. He saw several silky black strands of hair get caught on the wind.

Before he had much of a chance to continue his advance, Mars brought up her hands and shouted, "FIRE SOUL!" Heat and flame came shooting from her fingertips, giving him only seconds to teleport out of the way. He reappeared behind her before she'd even stopped attacking, a little shaken. He came up behind her silently, prepared to finish her off dishonorably and not caring about that one iota.

"SHABON SPRAY!" The concentrated jet of water Mercury had used against Tetis the day before hit Jadeite square in the side. He shouted as he was thrown across the street, careening into a street lamp. Apparently, the girl's skill with it had improved in twenty-four hours. His shoulder took most of the impact, but it didn't change the fact that his head had struck it rather hard as well. He stood still for a moment, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

Tuxedo Kamen was about to take advantage of Jadeite's temporarily vulnerable position when Mercury's voice interrupted him. "They're alive."

Mars turned to stare at her. "What?"

"The ones he hit," Mercury said breathlessly. "They're alive. He didn't kill them."

Tuxedo Kamen twisted to look back at Jadeite, who was shaking his head to regain his center of balance. Tuxedo Kamen knew that Jadeite had more than enough power to kill those people, and he should have had no reservations about doing it. They didn't appear to have had their energy drained, but were merely knocked out. He may have objected to Tetis's actions the day before, but that was because she was ignoring the opportunity for energy collection. Now Jadeite was doing the same thing, so he had no reason to spare them. Yet he had. Why?

In the end, Tuxedo Kamen decided not to question things and launched himself forward, drawing his fist back to punch Jadeite again while his guard was down. Unfortunately, Jadeite's vision stopped swimming just in time to see the masked man speeding for him. The dark king gritted his teeth and swung his left arm around in time to catch Tuxedo Kamen's fist. Jadeite flipped the man over on to his back, smiling at the grunt of pain as Tuxedo Kamen's spine hit the pavement. Jadeite lifted the sword above his head, poised to bring it down and stab him through the heart. Luckily, Tuxedo Kamen recovered quickly, rolling out of the way just as the sword would have impaled him. He began to scramble to his feet, but not before Jadeite hit him with another blast, laying him out again.

Jadeite began to advance, seething, "I will take the most pleasure out of your death, Tuxedo Kamen. You've made a fool of me one too many times. I'll have no more of that!"

"Tuxedo Kamen!" Mercury shouted, beginning to move forward before Mars caught her arm. The red Senshi shook her head at her ally, allowing a silent agreement to pass between them. The pair turned forward, eyes narrowed in determination. They moved away from each other and began to enter in to their attack poses.

"SHABON..."

"FIRE..."

Jadeite looked over his shoulder and sneered at the two, no longer willing to participate in an unfair fight. He brought up his sword, his face contorting strangely as he swung it around with a cry. The two Senshi could do little more than stare as a blue-white ball of light larger than any they had previously seen came surging out of the blade, heading straight for them. It knocked them both back before either one of them could finish their attack.

Tuxedo Kamen could do little more than watch from his vantage point on the ground. "Mars!" he shouted, listening to the pair's screams which were abruptly cut off as they hit the ground, rolling and skidding across the street. They didn't stop until they hit the wall, both clearly unconscious. "Mercury!"

Jadeite breathed a sigh of relief, smiling to himself at his accomplishment. He laughed a bit, saying, "So nice to have them out of the way... After all, they're not really the ones I'm concerned with." His head snapped over to Tuxedo Kamen, his eyes almost glowing with hatred and rage. "You're my prey. It's just you and me, boy,"Jadeite snarled like a wild animal, surging forward, his blade and his heart longing for the taste of Tuxedo Kamen's blood.

In spite of the pain in his chest and back, Tuxedo Kamen pushed himself up, throwing himself backwards to avoid the initial slice. He took two more fortunate steps back before bringing his cane around and knocking the next blow out of the way. Jadeite came back at him with unrelenting fury, causing Tuxedo Kamen to rely very heavily on his reflexes, which were thankfully not lacking. Jadeite came at him again and again, each time with a bit more ferocity and force. The general was determined to spill his opponent's blood.

With a final cry, Jadeite leapt for Tuxedo Kamen, putting his full weight behind the blade. Tuxedo Kamen planted his feet, holding his cane steady to absorb the full impact of the blow. He was pushed back several meters, straining against Jadeite's strength. Tuxedo Kamen looked up into Jadeite's eyes, surprised by the amount of personal hatred that lay in them. This wasn't just an opportunity to gain favor back at his home. This was a personal vendetta.

"You killed Tetis," Jadeite hissed through his teeth.

"I had to," Tuxedo Kamen strained. "She was killing innocent people."

Jadeite scoffed. "Innocent. How did you know they were innocent?"

"How did you know they weren't?" Tuxedo Kamen countered bitterly.

Jadeite narrowed his eyes and pushed against him even more. Tuxedo Kamen leaned back a little to accommodate for the added weight. Jadeite saw him begin to crumble and pushed harder.

"I'm going to make you pay," Jadeite told him. "For my disgrace and for Tetis's death."

Tuxedo Kamen raised an eyebrow, repeating the question that Ami had asked the day before to someone who could answer it. "Was she important to you?"

For whatever reason, the question seemed to infuriate Jadeite. He made the mistake of pulling back when Tuxedo Kamen would have clearly crumbled in a few more minutes. He brought his sword back far, giving his opponent time to straighten up. Then he hacked in the direction of Tuxedo Kamen's neck with a cry, only to be blocked by Tuxedo Kamen's cane once again.

A moment later, Jadeite responded. "She wasn't supposed to get involved."

"She didn't seem to mind," Tuxedo Kamen hissed, remembering bitterly.

"She was an assassin," Jadeite countered. "And a damn good one."

"But was she important?" Tuxedo Kamen asked again.

Jadeite actually seemed to consider this, perhaps wondering about it himself. "She was trying to save me. It makes her important enough."

Then, Jadeite did something unexpected, and because of that, very clever. He leapt up, twisting his body so that he was horizontal in the air. It took Tuxedo Kamen off guard for just long enough to ensure that he stayed put as both of Jadeite's feet impacted with his chest. Tuxedo Kamen flew back, watching as Jadeite disappeared from in front of him. Moments later, he felt the heel of a boot come crashing into the back of his neck, sending him careening back down to the asphalt.

Tuxedo Kamen lay flat on the ground, wounded and waiting for the sword to be driven through his shoulder blades. When it didn't happen, he slowly turned his head to look back up at Jadeite. The man was standing over him, sword hanging down in as unthreatening a manner as a sword could maintain. He seemed to be pondering something, and a moment later, the man had made a decision.

"You killed Tetis," Jadeite observed again. "And I can take her vengeance for her... and ensure that she has her own."

Tuxedo Kamen had no idea what he meant by that, but he realized it wouldn't be a mystery for long. Jadeite's fist closed around his collar, dragging him to his feet. Before he was fully upright, the two warriors had vanished in a flash of dark, teleporting to parts unknown.

-----

Sailor Mercury woke up face down on the pavement. Her entire body ached, but the greater amount of pain was radiating from the left side of her body, particularly her kneecap, her elbow, and her cheek. As she pushed herself up, she began to realize that that was likely because that's where she'd hit the ground when she'd skidded after Jadeite hit her and Mars. Her arm had taken the majority of the damage. The length of her appendage was scratched up, an open wound peppered with dirt and bits of gravel. She flinched just looking at it, touching it gingerly. It was yet another thing she wasn't looking forward to explaining to her mother.

Mercury looked up to see Sailor Mars slumped against the wall, her chin resting on her chest painfully. Mercury moved over to her companion as quickly as she could, checking her pulse and everything else that she knew to check in these situations. As far as she could tell, Mars would be all right. She was covered in the same amount of scrapes and bruises that Mercury had, and her ankle was still taped from the battle the day before. Mercury had no idea how the girl had managed to move as nimbly as she had except for the idea that she had an extremely high tolerance for pain.

Mercury shook her for a moment, attempting to rouse her ally. After several moments of attempting that, Mercury peeked around and took a closer look at the back of her head. She had missed it the first time due to Mars's dark hair, but she did have what seemed to be a somewhat significant head wound. It was no worse than any Tuxedo Kamen had received, but it was enough to ensure that she would be unconscious for some time.

The blue soldier sighed, looking around the area. It was now virtually empty. Most of Jadeite's earlier victims had apparently awoken during the fight and fled, and no one had come to take their place. But more worrisome was the fact that neither Tuxedo Kamen nor Jadeite were anywhere to be seen.

Mercury was certain that neither man would leave them alone if the other had been defeated. Tuxedo Kamen would have been at their side, tending to them or at least attempting to awaken them. And if Jadeite had been left to his devices, he would not have given them the chance to wake up. That could only mean that the two had moved to a different location.

She briefly marveled at how clearly she was thinking after having been unconscious, but then she didn't have much choice at the moment, now did she?

She knew that she had to locate Tuxedo Kamen as quickly as possible. While their offensive powers were significantly lessened with the loss of Sailor Mars, now that Mercury had figured out how to strengthen her attacks, she was a bigger asset in this fight. Tuxedo Kamen definitely couldn't handle Jadeite on his own. None of them could.

How to find Tuxedo Kamen was currently the problem. It wasn't as though he could send up a flare, and while she had her computer, she very much doubted that it would be able to find one man in a city of thousands just because she asked it to.

Mercury remained on this subject for a few moments before realizing that actually, it could. It might not be able to seek him out, but it could find something that he was carrying. Or specifically, his communicator.

She quickly pulled both objects out, activating her computer's scanner to get a read on the communicator. Then she hastily typed in a few commands, hoping that the machine would be able to understand what she was looking for. A little over a minute later, a radar map of the Juuban area and beyond had popped up. It had exactly three dots on it. The first two, blue and red, were clearly hers and Mars's. It took her a few more moments before she was able to pick up on the third, and when she found it, she couldn't help but be puzzled.

"Hinode Pier?" she asked no one in particular. "But why..."

Mercury quickly decided that it didn't matter. She looked over to Mars, shaking her a bit more to see if there was any hope of her waking up any time soon. When the girl gave absolutely no reaction, Mercury decided that the best and only thing she could do was to hide the girl in an alley and hope that no one came across her. Civilians would likely stay away from the area, and Jadeite had suggested that he was no longer expressly in league with the Dark Kingdom, so it was unlikely that they would send reinforcements. Her only real concern was the soldiers who had appeared at the end of the fight yesterday. Nevertheless, she found that she had little to no choice in the matter. It was hardly Mercury's idea of a good plan, but she needed to get to Tuxedo Kamen before anything horrible happened, and she couldn't very well drag an unconscious soldier with her. It was bad enough she was moving her into the alley with her wound.

A few moments later, Mercury had Mars as safely hidden as possible. She sighed, once again trying to wake the other girl up before leaving her. When there was still no response, Mercury shook her head and whispered, "Sorry about this, Rei."

She took off running half a second later. Mercury never saw another figure emerge at the top of one of the buildings and take a watchful, silent vigil over the fallen soldier.

-----

Tuxedo Kamen felt very ill when he was thrown down moments after being picked up on an entirely different surface. He quickly recognized his surroundings as being the Hinode pier. Normally, there would have been scads of tourists and workers milling about the area. Now it was eerily empty, closed for business. It didn't surprise him in the least. A tourist had died the day before along with over twenty Japanese citizens. Of course they were all hiding or trying to get back to their homes.

He pushed himself out of the way as Jadeite began to move forward. Tuxedo Kamen's palm scraped against aging wood, a large splinter working its way into the skin. He winced, but it was hardly at the forefront of his mind when Jadeite continued towards him, swinging his sword about recklessly.

"I'll return you to the water," Jadeite seethed. "See if you can escape her reach then, Tuxedo Kamen!"

Tuxedo Kamen once again managed to roll out of the way before he was unceremoniously decapitated, but he was forced to keep on that way as Jadeite continued his advance. The sword kept swinging forward, singing through the air as a siren would call for the blood of sailors in the old legends. And as Tuxedo Kamen recalled, the blade had already had a taste of it, as the minor cut just above his heart could testify to. It came closer and closer to its goal each time, as Tuxedo Kamen had an increasingly harder time moving out of the way. He jumped back, dodged right, danced to the left, and leapt above the sharpened jade, all the while holding eye contact with his would-be killer.

Tuxedo Kamen was certain now more than ever that this was not about Jadeite reentering the Dark Kingdom. Jadeite seemed to regard that as more of a fortunate consequence of the deaths of his enemies, but it wasn't his primary goal. It was Tetis that was driving his rage. She was calling for blood from beyond the grave, and her voice was driving Jadeite insane. Just like a siren song. Jadeite would stop at nothing to give her peace.

In fact, he didn't stop until the end of the dock did. Tuxedo Kamen tripped and fell to his knees to avoid the sword. Jadeite yelled and kicked out at his opponent, prepared to dump him into the waters as he had promised. Tuxedo Kamen reached out and grabbed on to the wood surface, pushing the splinter into his palm, but stopping himself from tumbling into the bay. Before Jadeite could continue in that vein, Tuxedo Kamen was able to reach out and swing himself to the other end of the pier.

"You could make this much easier on yourself," Jadeite advised him without kindness. "You're no match for me. You know this."

"What would you suggest?" Tuxedo Kamen asked acidly, gritting his teeth. "Allowing you to kill me to end both of our sufferings?"

Jadeite nodded. "That was the general idea."

"How merciful," Tuxedo Kamen spat.

"I owe you no mercy," Jadeite snarled, brandishing his green-hued blade. "You gave none to Tetis. I see no reason to give you any more consideration."

Tuxedo Kamen shook his head. "She brought her fate on herself. She knew the consequences of getting involved with you."

"She wasn't supposed to die!" Jadeite yelled. "She was better than that!"

"If she was better, she wouldn't have died!" Tuxedo Kamen yelled.

Jadeite narrowed his eyes, swinging his sword and slicing the air with it. "Are you suggesting that you are somehow more capable than she was? You were supposed to be no match for her. She was created with a taste for blood and trained to perform no other function than eradicate our enemies. She was literally born to kill!"

Tuxedo Kamen scoffed, suddenly struck by this odd brand of naïveté. "And what do you think we were born for?"

Jadeite let out another cry and snapped forward, the tip of his blade coming dangerously close to Tuxedo Kamen's neck, in a move Jadeite no doubt saw as poetically just. Tuxedo Kamen danced back, continuing with their discussion of sorts.

"Letting you kill me won't change anything," Tuxedo Kamen said, mimicking Luna's words. "Tetis will still be dead. You'll still be disgraced. And people will still be in danger. I don't much care about her life or your reputation, but I'll be damned if anymore people are going to die because I decided it was too hard to keep fighting you."

Jadeite regarded him for a moment, amused. "Your speeches are improving."

Tuxedo Kamen wasn't entirely sure how to respond to a compliment given by a man who was trying to cut his limbs off.

"But they don't change anything either," Jadeite spat, going on the offensive once more.

Tuxedo Kamen swung around one of the support beams as Jadeite's sword sliced the air where he had stood. Tuxedo Kamen quickly reached out and grabbed the overhanging on the pier, pulling himself up on to the roof. He stilled for a moment, but did not allow himself to linger too long, confident that Jadeite would follow. He crouched as he heard Jadeite start to move from below him, leaping up into the air, watching as Jadeite swung up just as his feet departed from the wood. Before Jadeite could follow, Tuxedo Kamen threw several steel-tipped roses down, the metal glinting in spite of the coming dark. Jadeite growled in annoyance, vanishing before any of them could hit him. The roses continued downward, landing in a perfect ring around the spot where Jadeite had been.

Tuxedo Kamen looked around, expecting his opponent to reappear a few feet away. He pulled out another rose to do the job as he reached the zenith in his ascent. It was at that moment that an impossible weight came down on the back of his head. White exploded in front of his eyes as he shouted in pain, twisting midair in an all too feeble attempt to elude his attacker. It was little surprise to him or to his assailant when he plummeted back down to the awning above the pier. His body hit the wood with a sickening crack, his arms and legs twisted in a manner that he never would have been able to stand had he been conscious.

Jadeite remained aloft for a moment, looking down at the fallen soldier. Tuxedo Kamen had been defeated at long last. Perhaps the man was not dead yet, but he was incapacitated. The more ultimate ending would follow soon enough. Jadeite had triumphed over one of his enemies, and with the first gone, the other two would not be difficult to vanquish. Their precious leader had fallen victim to his superior strength. What more defense did they have to offer? Jadeite was as good as victorious. He was almost surprised that he was not already being welcomed back into the Dark Kingdom, but on the other hand, he knew that Queen Beryl would not be swayed until Tetis had been paid back threefold, as he had been sent to do to begin with.

He had won, and he should have been rejoicing. Instead, he found himself frozen, staring down at the crushed rose spilling out from beneath the other man's palm. His hand had fallen right next to his temple, and the effect of the red patch and Jadeite's vantage point was that the flower seemed far more like blood pouring from a wound.

It was at that moment that Jadeite was reminded of something.

It seemed to be a memory or something he had seen in a dream. It was all very unclear and disjointed. One image had nothing to do with another, and yet he would have sworn that they were all somehow connected in a way that he could not voice. This was a memory. This was a very important memory.

In his mind, Jadeite could see another man floating in the air, his hand cut and hanging slack at his side. His eyes were closed forever, though he was certain that he had seen them open and crackling with life on more than one occasion. It was an image that filled him with both joy and sorrow, neither outweighing the other.

He could smell blood and ash all around him, and he saw fire raging just out of the corner of his eye and he was filled with an unspeakable fear. It was far more intense than he had ever felt for the element, and it only increased when he turned to look upon it, watching as it surged for him like a living thing, threatening to swallow him whole and render him nothing more than a pile of blackened bone.

He felt a cry rising in his throat, both for the flames and for the dead man. It was meant to be a name, but it was one that he did not know.

The day darkened to night and the sky filled with smoke and dust and the screams of the innocent and of the damned. And there were innocents. They were there, but they were dwindling as death came for more and more. He was filled with some sense of triumph for an accomplishment he could not remember, while another part of him cried out at injustice.

His eyes locked on that dead man again and his lips opened to say the word, the name.

But the moment mercifully passed, leaving Jadeite shaken and confused. He did not know what he had seen or what significance it had. He had seen some hints at a location, but he could not recall ever having seen pillars falling on a white field. Jadeite did not know if this had been some vision from his past life or the result of some forgotten fever dream, but he knew that he didn't like it. The vision had left him with some feeling of uncertainty, as if maybe there was something else that he should have been doing. Something other than avenging Tetis's death by striking down the very man who had killed her to begin with.

Of course, that was ridiculous.

Jadeite shook his head rapidly, clearing his mind of any more thoughts remotely resembling that. Paying Tuxedo Kamen back for Tetis had been his sole reason for existing in the past few hours. And that vengeance would grant him a pass back into the Dark Kingdom in order to continue their great work. Without the three troublesome obstacles, Jadeite would be able to finish the task he had been assigned. Then they could invade and take back what was rightfully theirs – the planet Earth.

Blaming his delusions on his fallen opponent, Jadeite let himself fall back to the roof of the pier with a clatter. He picked up Tuxedo Kamen by the collar of his shirt, crushing his roses underneath his feet as he dragged him the length of the wooden overhang. When he got to the edge, Jadeite threw the body into the water easily, as if he were little more than a sack of clothes. He watched the black cloaked man sail in the air, briefly floating on the wind in a way that made Jadeite shiver.

Tuxedo Kamen hit the water hard and sank quickly, as if he had dived down straight into it. Jadeite knew eventually the man would float back up, but based on how he had landed, it would be face down. He would not wake up in time to save himself from drowning. After that, Jadeite didn't care what happened to him.

"All yours, Tetis," Jadeite whispered, vanishing as his words and dead rose petals were carried forward on a sudden gust of wind.

-----

Jadeite reappeared where he had left the two Senshi. The street was now deserted. By now, all of his previous victims had gotten to their feet and fled as quickly as they could after the damage he had done them. He could see the Tokyo Police on either side a few blocks away, setting up barricades to hold what little public was out on the streets. Things were fairly frenetic on each side, so they did not seem to notice the strange man appear from nothingness, stalking the streets he had bloodied such a short time ago.

Neither of his enemies was in sight, but Jadeite sensed that his return had not been in vain. He could feel at least one of their presences, and he had a vague idea he knew where one of them was stashed.

He made his way over to the alley adjacent to the place where he had left the two Senshi. There, as he had anticipated, he found the form of Sailor Mars slumped over and propped up against the wall. She was very clearly alive, but she had taken a significant enough beating to warrant a period of unconsciousness. It was just as well, as Jadeite had been in no particular hurry to dodge any more of her attacks.

He winced a bit at the memory of that living fire, but put it out of mind.

Sailor Mercury was nowhere to be found, but that was of little consequence at the moment. He had sealed Tuxedo Kamen's fate, and he had one Senshi within his clutches. The third would be neither hard to find nor hard to kill. He imagined that she had gone off to find her comrade. He assumed that she could somehow locate him, and would go off to wait for her once he had rid the world of one more short-skirted nuisance.

Jadeite put away his sword, feeling that he would not need it to do away with this one in her state. He looked down at the unconscious soldier, wondering at how she hadn't awoken from the uncomfortable position she'd been left in. He must have knocked her about more than he had previously assumed to warrant that.

He crouched down, resting his palm against her forehead. Her tiara felt cool against his fingers as he pushed her head up, her dark bangs falling over his gloved hands. Had anyone asked him why he was wasting time by taking a good look at her face before he did away with her, he would not have been able to answer them. Perhaps he just needed a rest. It had been a very long day.

She, like her companion, Mercury, and their phantom ally, Sailor V, was indeed quite beautiful. Her skin was the true definition of refined porcelain, resembling a doll, with just a hint of flush in her cheeks to suggest life. Her features were deceptively delicate, though Jadeite was more than aware of just how vicious she could be. She had fought him and survived the day before without aid. It took quite a warrior to manage that. The youma had cause to fear her for her fire. In fact, it was interesting to see how calm she seemed when he was quite used to seeing her raging and vengeful. Her jaw was slack, pale lips slightly parted as her last breaths rushed in and out of her lungs with a pace that almost suggested that she was aware that her time was running out. With her long black hair and cool expression in sleep, she reminded him a bit of Tetis.

With that thought, he felt himself freeze again, just as he had done mere moments before. There was another girl of similar alabaster skin with her eyes closed and lips parted, but she hadn't been asleep. No, she'd been anything but asleep. She'd been awake and alive and so had he. He felt as though he were on fire, though it was much more pleasant than he had ever imagined.

It was frightening, the kind of fear he enjoyed, the kind of fear he would chase after and possibly die for if he were drunk enough on it. He heard a giggle, a sigh, a gasp, and a promise.

Then he heard a cry because he had been the one to make that promise, and he had been the one to break it.

Jadeite shook his head, now wondering at himself. Twice now he had caught himself reminiscing on such strangeness, and he still had no idea what any of it meant. Not to mention, a part of him was certain that he didn't want to know, and he stuck to that instinct.

Still, he could not help but be curious. What were these visions flooding his brain all of a sudden? Why had his two fallen enemies triggered them? And why did they leave him with so many feelings of doubt?

Even so, he clung to the instinct that told him it was better to be ignorant. What did those two matter now? Their death would be his rebirth, and there was no sense in putting it off.

He blinked away any last remaining dregs of his reminiscing, focusing instead on Mars's face. Pale as that other girl's, eyes and mouth closed tightly. He sighed and thought that perhaps this was the sort of thing that happened when people didn't get enough sleep.

He moved his hand down to close around her throat, watching as her head fell forward like that of a rag doll. His fingers closed around her neck, poised and ready to strangle the life out of her. But just before he tightened his grip enough to block her air, something happened.

"Fire..."

He heard her whisper, and it was then that he realized that her mouth had been closed, rigid as ever, when he'd just seen it open seconds before. He tried to move away, but her hand came up suddenly closing around his arm and holding him. He was shocked by her strength.

She looked up, violet eyes blazing in rage. In a fit of madness, he thought maybe he saw them turn red.

"SOUL!"

He screamed like an animal as he found himself on fire again, though this time it was not nearly so pleasant. He staggered out of the alley, and heard police whistles blow and onlookers gasp and scream in horror. He was a towering, flailing inferno, screaming louder than all of them as his flesh dried and curled away from his bones. After a moment, he vanished in a swirl of flame, leaving Mars alone in the alley, shaking and breathing.

The third party, the one who had watched over Mars, followed him, knowing where he would go.

-----

Sailor Mercury arrived at the Hinode Pier five minutes too late.

Granted she could not have possibly gone any faster. As it was, she had been impeded by her injuries, but being a Senshi had several advantages, including superior speed. In spite of the pain she was in, she got to the pier much faster than she ever could have hoped for, but it still wasn't fast enough.

She ran to the edge of the pier, worried when she saw several signs of a struggle – tiny drops of blood and dead roses strewn about. When she didn't see him on the land, Mercury looked out at the water of Tokyo Bay, her heart clenching in fear at the possibility. It took her a moment before she saw him, a blacker stain in the black water.

"Mamoru!" she cried recklessly, diving in without even bothering to remove her boots. She swam forward with urgency, kicking her feet hard to keep moving swiftly. It did not take an especially long time to reach him as he was not that far from the edge of the pier, but she knew that every moment mattered in this situation. Mercury clumsily managed to sling his arm over her shoulders, turning in the water and swimming back towards the shore. She did her best to keep his head above water, pointedly ignoring the fact that his lips had a blue tinge.

It took some maneuvering, but she managed to pull them both back up onto the pier. She was a drenched, shivering mess, and she was not at all calmed to see how still he was. The air might have been warm, but it didn't change the fact that chill shot down to her veins. She could only think of a few reasons for Tuxedo Kamen's lack of reaction, and each of them was worse than the next.

Without wasting time, she rolled him on to his back, inspecting his condition as quickly as she possibly could. His mask had been swept away by the water, making him seem much more vulnerable than he would have if it had stayed on. She could see that he had taken a beating, though not as severe as others he had been subjected to. It wasn't bad enough to land him in this state of unconsciousness. Not nearly bad enough. Mercury swallowed and laid two fingers to the side of his neck, leaning forward to his face.

She didn't feel any breath. And after searching for several dreadfully long moments, she realized there wasn't a pulse either.

Mercury didn't curse or cry. She merely tipped his head back, pried his lips open, and pushed his tongue down to the bottom of his mouth. He was in danger again, and she was the only one around to do something about it. She wasn't going to let her fear for him or for anything else stand in her way. So she tried to ignore how badly her hands were shaking as she pressed them down on his chest, pushing in rhythmically fifteen times, counting under her breath. Then she dipped her head, laying her mouth over his and breathing into his lungs as hard as she could. She paused afterwards to see if anything had changed.

No breath. No pulse.

Mercury whimpered quietly, but silenced herself, focusing on the task at hand. She was losing him, and she couldn't let that happen. She roughly pushed the heel of her hand back into his chest, counting mindlessly. One, two, three, four, five, and so on. Then she breathed into him again, gripping his arms and hoping that he could feel her desperation physically, if not intuitively.

No breath. No pulse.

She cried a little now, her eyes burning with hot tears. She pushed and breathed and checked. She pushed and breathed and checked again. Each time it was the same. No breath. No pulse.

Mercury felt herself getting light-headed and distant, feeling like she assumed victims of trauma felt at the time of the event. It didn't feel like this was actually happening to her, even as the salt water was beginning to push past her eyelids. Mamoru wasn't dying. Mamoru wasn't hurt at all. She was watching two other people play out this scene. She was watching someone else experience loss. She wasn't losing anything.

But that wasn't true. With every passing second, Mamoru was slipping farther and farther away. She was gripped by that same terror she had felt in the waiting room. She didn't know what was happening, even as she sat at his side. But she was seeing him weak for the second time, and it was frightening enough to make her want to shriek and hide her face from the world in his cold chest. He couldn't be dying. They couldn't be losing. She couldn't be losing him, the only person she was beginning to become bold enough to think of as a friend.

Now Mercury pounded on his chest before resuming the CPR. She turned to stare at his frighteningly pale face, her voice trembling as she tried very hard to stop crying. Tears would do nothing but cloud her vision. "Come on, Mamoru. You can do this. Pull through. Pull through. Please, just pull through."

She leaned down and breathed into his lungs again. She could see his chest expand out of her peripheral vision. When she checked to see if he was breathing on his own, there was nothing. Just like before.

She hit him again, strangling a sob. "Wake up, Mamoru. Wake up!" Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. She leaned down, holding his head back again. Just before she breathed again, she whispered, "You're not leaving, yet. I won't let you."

She breathed. In and out. In.

She didn't exhale for him. He did.

Mercury pulled away in shock and relief as Tuxedo Kamen rolled over. He awoke suddenly, coughing and sputtering and forcing all of the water out of his lungs.

As the fit passed, he remained still for a moment, filling his empty lungs with air. He hadn't been breathing for almost too long for him to be saved without damage, and he knew it. He had been physically dead, and it was only thanks to Sailor Mercury that he wasn't.

He turned back to thank her, probably with a joke to lighten the mood. But Mercury would have none of it, throwing herself at him unabashedly in a way that would probably mortify her later. But right now all that she could notice was that she was crying and he was holding her and she was saying, "You're alive," over and over again.

Tuxedo Kamen cradled her gratefully, breathing deeply to assure himself that he really was still doing it. He nodded after awhile and said, "I am."

They discovered that it was very hard to stop hugging after a near death experience.

-----

Jadeite reappeared on the roof of the hospital Tetis had died in. It was as far as his remaining magic would carry him in his state. It was hardly far enough to be considered a safe distance from the battle and from his opponents, but that hardly mattered. He had disappeared as the flames licked and scorched his body. They would no doubt think that they had killed him right then and there. They were probably celebrating their triumph at that very moment. He wondered if maybe he would hear their joyous cries from his position and very much hoped that he would not have to suffer that as well.

He stumbled out of the teleportation, falling to his knees. Jadeite looked down at his blackened, shriveled hands and wondered how much he resembled a human. Every patch of his skin still felt as if it were on fire if he could feel it at all. He saw that some of it was peeling, falling off to reveal blood underneath. He moaned in pain and disgust, showing weakness in a manner that his fellow Shitennou would have called pathetic and never forgiven him for.

He decided that in spite of their opinions, he was entitled to his weakness. Dying was a very painful process after all.

His physical pain only seemed to increase with the thoughts of his fellow soldiers. They were without him now, not that they would mourn his passing much. There was no telling what punishments they would suffer if they had the heart to do so, but he very much doubted they did. Kunzite may have fought for him and Nephrite may have strived to make him see the errors of his ways, but the group had never been what Jadeite would call friendly. Soldiers could not be friendly. They could coexist, but no more than that.

Besides, Jadeite knew that he had been dead to the Dark Kingdom since he had lost Tetis. In fact, Jadeite was certain that the only reason Queen Beryl had not sent mercenaries after him immediately was because she knew him all too well, just as she knew all of her higher ranking warriors. She had been assured of his pride and desperation to survive. He would not go out a failure. That was not an option for the second of the Dark Kings. She had been counting on this, knowing he would do something desperate to try and regain her favor and, more importantly, his honor. He would either succeed and kill their enemies, or fail and kill himself. Either way, the problem would solve itself.

As Jadeite knelt on the cold, hard rooftop, his knees digging into the gravel, he contemplated his failure - his utterly despicable failure as a soldier. He was supposed to stand tall, be proud, be strong. He was not supposed to suffer the agony of defeat. He was supposed to hold his head high in victory. Now all he could do was let it hang in agony, praying that his time would run out quickly.

"Well, isn't this an interesting sight?" a cold, female voice called out from behind him. "The great Jadeite on his knees at last. You know, I was beginning to think that I'd only ever see this in my dreams." She laughed, her voice sounding like quiet bells on a silent winter day. He would have cared to hear it in just about any other circumstance. "I am so glad I was wrong."

Jadeite wanted to turn around and see his tormentor, maybe tell her that she was a bit late if she wanted to make him feel horrible. He tried and found he couldn't. He decided to wait and hope she would circle around. Or hope that she would leave of her own accord. He didn't want the company. "Who are you? Some friend of Tetis come to kill me while I can't fight back? Do you long for Beryl's praises so much?"

She laughed again. "You only wish I were some youma come to reap a reward."

When she didn't continue, Jadeite asked, "Have you come to kill me anyway?"

"No," she told him after a moment. "I won't take away Mars's victory. Let her have it. I've had others."

Jadeite narrowed his eyes. So, this was some ally of the Senshi's come to watch their enemy die? It certainly didn't sound like Sailor Mercury or the Maulish cat. Had another soldier awakened without their realizing it?

"Why are you here then?" he wondered aloud, making sure that it was clear that he was in no mood for this.

"To be certain of her victory," she said. He heard heels clacking on the roof. She was moving, circling around him. A silhouette came into view, but the shadows clung to her form in a manner that struck him as unnatural. When he was able to make out the outline of the Sailor Senshi fuku, he realized it was because the darkness had never suited those warriors. They would never cloak them as they had him. They would never accept her presence. She would force herself on them.

Jadeite laughed and soon wished he hadn't. He took a deep, wavering breath and said, "Look at me, little girl. I'm shocked you were able to recognize me in my state. I won't last much longer. You're wasting your time."

She seemed to shrug. "Even if it is a waste, I'll remain here until you don't."

He nearly growled. "You're so worried about my will to live?"

"I'm worried about your comrades' will to see you live," she clarified. "I don't want one of them coming and mending you to fight another day. Your time, Jadeite, is over. I won't let you fight any more. I'll fend them off if they come, and... well, then I will have to kill you, so I was being a bit premature."

Jadeite would have liked to laugh at that as well, but he had learned his lesson. He merely looked up at where he thought he saw her eyes briefly glitter, glaring so intensely he thought he might look straight through her. "You think they care for me anymore? I have failed them too many times. They've washed their hands of me."

She sounded amused. "Have they?"

"There are other warriors to take my place," Jadeite told her, his voice tightening.

She didn't say anything for awhile, as if waiting for him to say more. He wondered if perhaps she was waiting for some kind of threat that would normally follow such a statement. Did she expect him to say, "And they'll do what I couldn't. You'll regret ever tangling with the Dark Kingdom!" or something else equally ridiculous to threaten as he waited at death's door? If she was waiting for him to say that, they were going to be sitting in silence for quite some time.

Finally, she nodded. "Yes, I suppose there are."

Jadeite sighed, clutching at his sides painfully. He groaned and ground out, "Don't you see that no one is going to come? I don't have the strength to go anywhere. No one would help me if they found me. Hell, I'm sure some of my supposed allies would love to see me die just as much as you do. Why can't you just leave me in peace?"

He imagined she was probably raising an eyebrow at him. "You want me to leave you to die alone?"

"Yes!" he shouted, rocking himself a little. Hell had been reaching out to grab him from the moment that Mars's flames touched his skin, and it was not relenting now. It was coming closer now, and he was beginning to panic. He could feel it, cold hands on his neck, reaching into him and dragging him down. It was scaring him, and he didn't want anyone to see him scared. He was still a warrior even if he was a failure. "Yes, I want you to go!"

"And make the same mistake your superior did?"

Jadeite stopped abruptly, briefly confused. Then his eyes widened in realization. This girl could only be one person. He should have known her sooner. But they had been so sure. They had been positive that she hadn't survived. True, there had been no body, but no one could have survived that explosion. No one. Not even the rogue warrior, the fabled princess.

"Sailor V?" he asked. His voice shook involuntarily. As much as Mars was feared among the youma, the Shitennou were wary of this phantom champion. They had no memory of her, and that made her dangerous. She was also a formidable opponent, as ruthless as any of their allies. She hadn't always been so worrisome, but then she had proven herself to be a rather large problem.

So Kunzite had gotten rid of her.

At least that's what they thought.

After Jadeite identified her, it seemed she no longer wanted to hide from him. She stepped forward so that he could see her. She was just as Kunzite had described her, dressed in red and blue. Her lemon silk hair fell almost to her knees. That alone was enough to make her seem startlingly more than human. She was as young as her fellow soldiers, but she carried herself as if she were much older. She looked down at him through a blood red mask just like the one they had found in the wreckage. It had been the only sign that she'd ever been in there.

"You survived?" he marveled. "But... But that's--"

"Impossible?" Sailor V taunted, folding her arms across her chest. "Not quite. It was highly improbable, but I managed it, so clearly it wasn't impossible."

He just stared at her, watching as she crouched down in front of him. This vantage point was able to give him a good look at her eyes. They were blue, fittingly enough. But they were a light, frosty blue. She wasn't just making her voice sound hardened. She was hardened.

"Kunzite nearly killed me, Jadeite. I give him credit for that. But you didn't check to make sure I was dead. Why? Wasn't it important that you get me out of the way? Wasn't I making things too difficult for you to operate in London? Why did you leave me there to drag myself into an alley and get to safety?"

Jadeite swallowed. "We went to London to get energy, but it was never our primary target. We went there hoping to get energy and remain under the radar. Clearly we failed. We had already abandoned London when he tried to get rid of you. Your death garnered too much attention."

"If London was never your primary target, what was? Tokyo?" she asked, glaring at him. Apparently this had also been on her agenda, questioning him when he was too weak to resist the interrogation. He nodded. He may not have enjoyed her company, but as long as she wasn't going to go away, he figured he may as well prolong his life as much as possible. What did it matter to him if she figured all this out now? He was too weak to be loyal now. "Why? What's so important here?"

Jadeite looked at her, surprised. She didn't know what they were after? Granted they didn't dare speak of it often. It was the one thing the Dark Kingdom held sacred. Only Queen Beryl ever spoke of it, getting a far off look in her eyes when she did. Sometimes, the Shitennou would discuss it in hushed tones, longing to be the one to have it in their possession. It was what they were searching for. It was why they were even considering their enemies a threat, fearing that they were looking for it to. But they clearly weren't. They were just trying to save those who fell victim to their search.

He couldn't help but think that their nobility was foolish.

"You really don't know," he marveled, coughing slightly. His voice was growing faint even now. He heard a buzz begin to sound in his ears, growing louder and louder with every strained heartbeat. It wouldn't be much longer. "The Ginzuishou is here."

She blinked. "Ginzuishou? What's that?"

Jadeite stared at her again. "I suppose this means you aren't the Moon Princess. You'd know if you were."

Sailor V frowned, reaching forward and grabbing what was left of his jacket. She pulled him forward, shaking him painfully. "Forget that. What's the Ginzuishou?"

Jadeite cried out and she stopped, releasing him, perhaps surprised by her own actions. He fell to the ground, curling inward. He panted, gasping for breath,  
looking up at her with bloodshot eyes. He felt his heart slowing down. His vision was getting hazy. Sailor V was fading into darkness again along with the rest of the world. He only had a few more moments on this Earth. That was why he told her.

"The Ginzuishou is everything."

And then Hell closed its fist around him and pulled.

Sailor V looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Then she noticed the way his eyes didn't focus and the way his chest had stilled. She cursed and reached forward, shaking him again. "No, not now! You were telling me! Tell me what it is! What are you looking for!"

But it was all in vain. Even as she laid her hands on his withering arms, she felt them begin to crumble beneath her gloved fingertips. She stepped back, watching as his body started to fade away, turning to dust just like all the others. Then she spun around and stomped in frustration. "I was so close! I almost had it! I shouldn't have waited so long! I should have--"

She was interrupted by the sound of something falling to the ground.

Sailor V whipped around, shifting into battle stance without a second thought. She was surprised to find no one standing behind her. She looked to her left, then her right, and finally down to where she thought a pile of dust would lay until the wind picked up. But there was no dust.

Instead, a light grey-green stone lay on the ground. It was smooth and round, as if someone had polished it just moments before. Sailor V crouched down and took a longer look at it. Then she realized what it was.

"Jade," she breathed, realizing what this meant. Instead of turning to dust, the Shitennou shriveled up and turned into this stone. She didn't know if this was a mark of their power or a testament to their name, but she didn't like it.

Sailor V straightened, staring down at the rock for a moment. Then she pointed her finger at it, not bothering to shout the incantation before the gold beam shot from her fingertip. It hit the stone dead in its center, making it splinter and shatter. At that moment, the wind stirred, carrying what was left of the Shitennou off to unknown regions, never to be seen again.

Sailor V stared at the blackened spot for a moment and then smiled. She sighed in contentment and chirped, "Another one bites the dust!"

With that, she saw no reason to remain there. She turned on her heel and flounced to the edge of the roof, a spring in her step. Even if she didn't have all the information, at least now she knew why they had come to Tokyo after marginal success in London. And she knew what they were looking for even if she didn't know what it was. Perhaps Artemis would know if she told him.

No matter what, she could chalk up another victory for their side. That was the most important thing.

-----

They had all felt when it happened, but Nephrite had been alone.

It had been rather unlike he had thought it would be like as much as he had been secretly hoping this wouldn't happen. He'd been expecting some kind of intense pain on the same level Jadeite must have been feeling at the time. He had expected it to feel as if some limb was being torn off. That was what he had always assumed it would be like.

But it wasn't at all painful. In fact, it was just a feeling of resolution. He suddenly knew that Jadeite was dead and that was that.

Nephrite cast his eyes downward, his brow furrowed as he considered his loss. Not only had Jadeite been a warrior of legendary renown, but he had been the closest thing to a confidante he had in their ranks. Nephrite had needed no word from Kunzite to sit with Jadeite when things had been at their worst because he and Nephrite had gotten drunk on multiple occasions when things weren't at the worst. It had been why Nephrite had tried to stop him early on from letting things get out of his control. It had been why he had almost spoken up to Queen Beryl about the matter. And it might account for the curious feeling that had been resting in his stomach ever since his talk with Kunzite.

But none of that mattered because Jadeite was dead.

Nephrite reached for the glass of brandy he had obtained some time ago and let sit. He downed it in one gulp, annoyed that it had watered down over time, but happy for the alcohol to calm his nerves. Though he couldn't quite understand why they needed to be calm. Jadeite had been a comrade, and the pair had spoken on occasion. But it wasn't as if…

Wasn't as if what? Nephrite found that he couldn't complete that thought.

Nephrite shook his head roughly, deciding that the time for thought had long since ended. Jadeite was dead, and there was no altering that. All that he could do was move on and heed Kunzite's warning. He would be taking up where Jadeite had left off, and he would not end up in his position. He would not die a hunted man. In fact, he would not die at all.

General Nephrite had just become too important to die.

With this in mind, he teleported to Jadeite's room. It looked as if the man was still living there. There was an empty glass on the table, his bed was unmade and clothes were strewn about the floor. Nephrite wasn't certain what would be done with the space, but he did not entertain the notion that it would be maintained as a shrine to a great man.

Nephrite went over to the dresser that had been forged from stone. The drawers opened easily enough, but it took him a moment to find just what he was looking for.

As the second-in-command of the Shitennou, Jadeite was afforded certain privileges he often took advantage of. However, one thing he had never done was wear the epaulettes denoting his rank. Nephrite had asked him why once.

"They look like fried eggs on my shoulders," Jadeite had informed him in disgust. "Those damn things look absolutely ridiculous; they're a waste of good metal. Besides, I know that I'm better than you. I don't see why my clothes have to rub it in. You have such a fragile ego."

Then Jadeite had thought for a moment and said, "Tell you what. If you like them so damn much, you're welcome to them when I'm dead. In fact, I want you to wear them. I'll need something to laugh about in the afterlife."

Of all the pointless conversations they had ever had, Nephrite remembered that one as if it had just happened. It was one of those little things that stuck out in his head for reasons he couldn't understand. The mind did work in such unpredictable ways.

Nephrite silently strode over to the mirror, fastening the epaulettes on his shoulders. He was second-in-command now, and he was afforded certain privileges he probably wouldn't have time to take advantage of. But he would wear these even though they really did look like fried eggs on his shoulders.

He smiled somewhat smugly in Jadeite's mirror. For the first time, Nephrite could hardly wait to see Zoisite..

A moment later, he felt the summons.

He teleported to the throne room instantly, head bowed upon arrival. The hushed voices of the youma were silent at the sight of him. The gesture carried a reverence they hadn't felt before. Of course, things were different from before.

Kunzite and Zoisite were already there, but Nephrite didn't look at either of them. He did hear the latter give a very tiny squeak, and that filled him with an immense amount of satisfaction.

"You summoned me, Queen Beryl?" Nephrite asked.

She nodded, giving him leave to rise. "Yes, Nephrite. As I'm sure you are aware of, Jadeite has perished at the hands of Tuxedo Kamen and the Sailor Soldiers."

Nephrite paused a moment before answering, as if hearing this information aloud changed anything. But it didn't, so Nephrite responded, "Yes, your majesty."

"Are you then ready to take up our banner and fight for the Kingdom?"

Nephrite nodded, his eyes narrowed. "Jadeite was a fool," he began, his fist suddenly clenched at his chest. "I informed him that his tactics were too risky for his mission, but he did not listen. He was willful and would not listen to reason. It is why he has died, and I will not repeat any of his mistakes.

"I will gladly gather energy for our Empress, Queen Beryl. And I will search for the Ginzuishou, a matter that Jadeite seemed to neglect as of late. I am aware that finding the stone is imperative as it will make us unstoppable in the final battle.

"I think perhaps it is less important to get rid of our enemies at this time. They only need to be avoided until we can lay our hands on it. Then their presence will hardly be an issue."

Nephrite said this as a safeguard in case Queen Beryl suddenly decided that she wanted to make them a priority. He couldn't help but think that if Jadeite hadn't been torn in too many directions, he would still be alive. Nephrite was in no hurry to join him.

Beryl considered this for a moment. "Very well, Nephrite. You may begin your task for the sake of our nation and the good of our kind."

Nephrite bowed again. "Your will be done, Queen Beryl."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Hooray! It is done! Of course, this chapter isn't as much of a triumph as Chapter Five, because this one wrote itself BEFORE Five was fully conceived. Believe me when I say that I found this endlessly frustrating.

To begin, I always wanted the fight with Jadeite and Tuxedo Kamen to end up at the water. I never knew why until I finally got to writing it. I assumed it was as some sort of homage to the anime, but it turns out that wasn't it. It was Jadeite insisting on it even when it appeared impractical because its meant to be his tribute to Tetis. That might even be why Tuxedo Mask was "drowned" in the original as well.  
He might not have been able to show up at that fight because it would have made no sense whatsoever (a plot point which was ignored time and again in SuperS might I add), but he aided in Tetis's death by preventing the Senshi from being killed previously. The water took her back, and Jadeite thought it fitting to make a sacrifice back to the water.

My point is, more people should write Tetis/Jadeite fic.

In addition, the Hinode Pier is an actual location in Tokyo. It's the oldest of the piers, constructed in 1924 and a fairly big tourist area as a matter of fact. Of course, it wasn't at the time what with the numerous deaths the previous day, but normally it would be fairly active.

And another big thank you to Yumeko, and the first thank you to Dave Ziegler, who is now my beta's beta. Yes, I could look up the Greek letter following beta or I could rush AXO next semester and find out, but neither are going to happen, so he's just going to be called my beta's beta unless someone tells me what it is because I am very, very tired.

Coming Soon - Part Seven: Confidence Man


	7. Confidence Man

Hands Fall Together  
Part Seven: Confidence Man  
7/27  
by Kihin Ranno

After their emotional reunion, Sailor Mercury was quick to pull herself together. She was rather embarrassed about her outburst, but she didn't allow herself to be affected by the awkwardness of the situation. After all, there were more pressing matters to attend to. Jadeite was still out there. And so was Sailor Mars.

Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen made their way back to the street as quickly as they could. Their progress was significantly slowed by Tuxedo Kamen's weakened state. In any other situation, Mercury would have made sure that he had an opportunity to rest, but there simply wasn't time for that. She did her best to keep him going, bearing most of his weight and encouraging him when his legs threatened to buckle underneath him.

When they got back to where they had left Mars, they found that it had been cordoned off by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Mercury sighed. "I should have guessed that Jadeite would attract this kind of attention. If I'd bothered to think about it, I could have come up with an alternate route to begin with and--"

"It's all right," Tuxedo Kamen assured her, his voice still hoarse. "You'll figure out a way to get by them."

Mercury looked up at him, blinking. Hearing his confidence in her was reassuring, almost making her smile in spite of their predicament. She helped Tuxedo Kamen stand without her assistance, propping him up against a wall while he continued to try and get his bearings. Then she pulled out her mini-computer and tapped the earring on her right ear. Her visor appeared over her eyes, allowing her to single out everyone in the area, hidden or not. She continued scanning the area for several minutes, searching for a hole the police hadn't had time to cover yet.

It took awhile, but eventually, she found it. "If we double back two blocks and come at it from behind, we should be able to get to Rei without being detected. Are you up to that?"

In Mercury's opinion, he wasn't, but that didn't change his answer. "I'll be fine." Tuxedo Kamen pushed himself off the wall and staggered back over to her. As she was making sure that he was settled, she noticed him looking around. "Why do you suppose they haven't gone looking for anything yet?"

Mercury frowned, wondering at that herself. She hadn't considered it before he brought it up, too absorbed in their problems to bother with it. But now that it was on her mind, it was irritating her considerably. "I don't know. Perhaps they're too frightened?"

Tuxedo Kamen shrugged, but she could tell in the set of his jaw that the explanation wasn't entirely satisfying. "Maybe."

If they had the luxury of time, Mercury would have stopped to consider all of this. But they were in something of a hurry, and as soon as she thought that Tuxedo Kamen was steady, she started moving. "Come on. Mars will be waiting."

Mercury's route took them a good ten minutes out of the way, but they eventually managed to reach the alley without another incident. They found Sailor Mars right where Mercury had left her, sitting on the dirty ground with her back pressed up against the dull brick. The only difference was that she was awake and her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Mars!" Mercury cried, jogging over to the red clad soldier. She crouched beside Mars, instantly concerned. She gently touched Mars's shoulder. "What happened? Are you all right?"

Mars looked up, surprised to see her. Seconds later, her face twisted into a grimace and she pulled her arm away, forcing herself to her feet. She glared down at Mercury, wiping at her face as discreetly as possible. "Well, I'm alive. No thanks to you."

Mercury instantly knew what she was referring to. She kept her eyes lowered even as she got to her feet. "Mars, I... I'm sorry, but I had to--"

"What is wrong with you?!" Mars demanded, her voice strangled as if she were the one who had almost drowned. She was physically shaking and whiter than Mercury had ever seen her. And there was something in her eyes that was truly frightening. Mars had been angry before, but nothing like this. "I would never have left you like that! What happened to being comrades, Mercury?"

"I'm sorry," Mercury repeated softly.

Tuxedo Kamen took that moment to stagger forward, still not that steady on his feet after the battle with Jadeite. He held up his hands in a feeble attempt to placate the Senshi of Fire. "Mars, she didn't have a choice. She had to come after me and Jadeite."

"Jadeite," Mars hissed as if scorched by her own fire. "What does Jadeite matter? He's dead."

Tuxedo Kamen blinked in surprise, managing to straighten his back with that news. "Dead?"

"He came back here?" Mercury asked, her voice quiet with horror.

Mars looked back over to Mercury, her violet eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yes, of course he came back here. He came back to finish us off, but the only Senshi he found was me. Crumpled and unconscious in an alley with no one to see that I didn't die!"

Mercury stepped back as if Mars had slapped her, surprised that she hadn't at least tried to. Mercury clasped her hands together, holding them in front of her chest protectively. Her eyes were closed, and both of her allies were certain from her voice that she was trying to keep from crying. "I... never meant for that to happen, Mars. But if I hadn't--"

"If you hadn't, I wouldn't have almost been killed!" Mars insisted, unwilling to let Mercury finish. "And he could have done it too! I don't know why he hesitated, but--"

"Well, thank goodness he did," Tuxedo Kamen said neutrally, not wanting to get in the middle of their altercation. At any other time, he would have ended this, but he lacked the strength to talk Mars down.

"I was lucky he did. Especially since I'm the only one of us who stood a chance at hurting him," Mars agreed, her voice cracking oddly. "But I should have had backup."

Mercury swallowed and once again tried to make her case. "Mars, I--"

"I don't give a damn," Mars said, backing away from the two and preparing to leave. "I don't care what your motives were or if everything turned out okay. What matters is that you abandoned me. It wasn't the smart thing to do, not the brave thing to do, and it sure as hell wasn't the right thing to do."

If Mercury could have turned into a puddle and seeped into the sewers of Tokyo never to be seen again, she would have done so. As it was, all she could really do was stand there and take the abuse. It was all too much for her to take. "I'm sorry," she repeated one last time.

Mars dropped her transformation and walked back the way Tuxedo Kamen and Mercury had arrived, shaking her head. "I suppose in a way you ought to be grateful you weren't here." Rei swallowed, her eyes fluttering closed and her fingers trembling. "If I were you, I wouldn't have wanted to see Jadeite stagger out of the alley in an inferno."

Mercury's stomach lurched, her hand flying to her mouth. The image disturbed her deeply, and the knowledge that Rei had been forced to face it alone made her feel that much worse. She wished that she hadn't been told that. All it did was inform her why the police had been avoiding the area thus far. It was a horrible way to die, and none of them wanted to face the same fate.

"Rei," Tuxedo Kamen croaked.

"Good-bye," Rei said shortly.

Before either of her comrades could say anything more to make Rei understand what had happened, she'd turned on her heel and fled, running away from the scene of the crime as fast as she could. In spite of how the saying went, Mercury very much doubted she was ever going to return.

Mercury felt Tuxedo Kamen limp closer to her from behind. She sensed another movement, almost like he wanted to lay a hand on her shoulder. He didn't. "Are you all right?"

"No," Mercury whispered in despair. "She's right. I shouldn't have left her alone... but if I hadn't--"

He sighed, shaking his head. "You made a tough decision, and in the end everyone survived. Regardless of whether or not it was the right thing to do, you made the right choice. She can't hold that against you forever."

Mercury sniffed, opening her eyes and looking at him like a child doubting her parent's word for the first time. "Can't she?"

He didn't answer that, and she knew exactly why.

He let his transformation drop, rubbing his eyes with his palm as Mercury followed suit. "Hopefully, she'll come around. I'll make sure she knows about what happened at the pier, and then maybe she won't be so quick to judge."

Ami nodded slightly, dabbing at her eyes with her fingertips. "Maybe," she repeated, though not with much enthusiasm.

Mamoru started walking, waving her away when she immediately tried to assist him. She watched as he continued testing his limits, wobbling with every step, but remaining upright. It was impressive if not a little foolish.

He turned after he had walked for a little while, gesturing for her to follow. "Come on. We'd better get out of here."

"Right," Ami said, her voice almost too quiet to be heard.

"I'll walk you home," Mamoru offered.

Ami shook her head adamantly. "No, you don't have to--"

"I'll walk you home," Mamoru repeated a bit more sternly. While it normally would not have worked, Ami was too tired to put up much of a fight. Or maybe she just knew that she needed the company. Either way, she didn't say anything more about the subject, allowing him to stay by her side the whole way home.

-----

Mamoru arrived at his apartment some time later, thoroughly exhausted. He supposed it was only natural for him to feel so drained after what had happened, but that didn't make his predicament any less unfortunate.

He took several deep breaths, filling his lungs more than he usually did just to make sure they were still working. He found that his hands shook a bit when he thought back to what had happened at the docks, so he didn't allow himself to dwell on it for very long.

When Mamoru opened his door, his attention was drawn immediately to his answering machine. It beeped the moment he glanced around the apartment, and he couldn't help but be surprised when he saw that someone had left fourteen messages in the few hours he had been gone. Suspicious, he stepped into his flat, shutting the door behind him. He hit the play button, waving his hands as the machine informed him of the date and time of the call in a useless attempt to make it play faster. When it finally finished the endless introduction, a frantic voice came over the line.

"Mamoru, it's Motoki."

He slapped his forehead with his open palm. "Oh, crap."

"I'm calling from the Tsukinos. They let me use their phone," Motoki said, his voice tight and out of breath. "Mamoru, I don't know where you are, but if-- when you get this, I need you to call me back right away. Things back at the Crown... They... SHIT! Mamoru, you need to call me back."

The call ended there without leaving a number to follow his friend's instructions. Mamoru quickly skipped to the next message, hoping that Motoki had remembered to leave the number in the one of the other thirteen messages. Mamoru groaned loudly when the mechanical introduction came on again, quieting just in time to hear that this message had been left approximately eight minutes after the first. He felt his lungs begin to constrict with each passing second, knowing that Motoki must have been going crazy. For all he knew, Mamoru could be badly hurt.

For all he knew, Mamoru could have been dead.

Just as Motoki's voice started to come on the answering machine, Mamoru heard a loud banging coming from the hallway. A few moments later, someone began pounding on his door frantically. Then the door opened and slammed shut, followed by footsteps thumping down his short corridor.

Mamoru turned in time to see his friend standing at the entrance of his living room, breathing heavily. Motoki's face was whiter than a death shroud, his eyes impossibly wide. Seconds later, the shock dissolved into relief as Motoki all but ran forward, throwing his arms around Mamoru. It was the second embrace he had received that day, and Mamoru still wasn't comfortable with them.

"You bastard," Motoki whispered harshly into his shoulder. His breath was hot on Mamoru's neck, reminding him of their proximity. For whatever reason, his arms wound around Motoki in return, clapping him on the back in an attempt to comfort the other man. It didn't seem to help much. "You... son of a **bitch**. If you ever do that to me again--"

"I'm fine," Mamoru insisted, cutting Motoki off before he could become any more violent. It was a rare occasion that Motoki swore, and he was hardly proud to have been the cause. "It's all right. I'm fine."

Mamoru had to assure Motoki that he was all right at least three more times before the other man would actually let him go. He took a step back, wiping his face on his sleeve. It was too dark for Mamoru to be certain, but he thought that maybe Motoki had been crying. He wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, so he turned around and shut off the answering machine to distract himself.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Motoki asked, his voice sounding as if it was being squeezed out through a vice. "You just disappeared, and then that guy came and people were dying and--"

"No one died," Mamoru interrupted, walking over to the light switch. He would likely brood in the darkness later, but he couldn't abide holding a conversation with Motoki when he could barely see him.

Motoki took a moment to process that information before responding. "What?"

Mamoru flipped the switch, blinking a bit as his eyes adjusted to the light. "No one was killed. I stuck around long enough to find out that much."

He turned to find Motoki looking down at the ground, shaking his head slowly. "But that guy... He said that he was killing people. He said that he wasn't going to stop until those three... Until they showed up and--" Motoki looked up and cut himself off when he got a good look at Mamoru's face.

It was then that Mamoru remembered just how badly a beating he had taken from Jadeite, and he wished that he had thought of that before he turned the lights on. The man may not have hit him on the face at any time, but he had plenty of visible incidental injuries from hitting the ground so often.

Motoki crossed over to him, his cheeks coloring. "You stuck around for longer than that. God, Mamoru, what happened?"

"I just got knocked about a bit. That's all," Mamoru insisted, waving Motoki away before he started poking at him.

Motoki looked dubious, remaining silent for a moment. Then he shook his head, his eyes narrowed. "No, you're wheezing. I can hear it. You got more than knocked about."

"All right, so 'a bit' was an understatement," Mamoru admitted. "But there's no reason to panic. Yes, I got hit with the tail end of a blast and got thrown, but it's nothing to send me to the hospital over, so don't even think about suggesting it. Getting out of that war zone was no easy task, you know."

Mamoru quickly realized that he had said exactly the wrong thing. Motoki's head fell forward as if his neck refused to support his weight anymore. He shut his eyes tightly, the skin creasing in a manner that almost looked painful. "I should never have left you there," Motoki muttered miserably through clenched teeth. "I tried, but I had to get Usagi and her brother out of there." His left hand shot out, pounding on the wall and making what few decorations Mamoru had tremble. "God, I'm such an idiot!"

"No, you're not," Mamoru maintained.

The other man looked up quickly, his green eyes still shadowed in disbelief. "Some friend I turned out to be. I left you there to get hurt. I should have gone into the arcade and dragged you out by your ankles if I had to. But I left you behind."

Mamoru shook his head, amazed at how quick Motoki was to blame himself. Mamoru had never seen Motoki this upset before. Motoki looked ill, making Mamoru wonder if he had literally made himself sick over whether or not he was alive. "You did the right thing, Motoki. You needed to get out of there, and I am capable of taking care of myself. It's just a few bruises."

"And what if it wasn't just a few bruises?" Motoki demanded, the curve of his jaw tightening to reveal sharper edges than Mamoru wasn't used to seeing. "What if you were..." he trailed off, swallowing hard, unable to finish the sentence. "What then? Would it still be all right?"

Mamoru didn't answer immediately, thinking back to those few minutes at the Hinode Pier. The ones in between the moment Jadeite had sent him sprawling on to the aging wood and when Sailor Mercury had thrown her arms around him in near hysteria that he was all right. He couldn't remember them, not even as an endless, moonless night or as a journey towards a ray of light. But that didn't change the fact that they had happened and that there had been a few minutes where Mamoru had been much, much worse.

Motoki was never going to know about those moments.

"It wouldn't have been your fault," Mamoru told him, his voice almost stern. "It would have been mine for being too stupid to duck. Now stop this, or I'll get Reika to... do something horrible that I haven't come up with yet. I don't know, she's better at the revenge stuff."

Motoki held Mamoru's gaze for a few moments in silence, his eyes still shadowed in doubt. Then he turned his head to the side, his gaze dropping down to the ground. He took a deep breath and let his shoulders sag, muttering, "I'll tell Reika you almost got yourself decapitated. Then you'll have to deal with her."

Mamoru frowned. "I don't understand why she takes such a personal interest in my life. She's not my girlfriend."

"Somebody has to do it," Motoki muttered, taking another shot at himself that was so subtle Mamoru almost missed it.

The pair fell into silence, but it wasn't the sort that they usually found themselves in. Mamoru could tell that Motoki wanted nothing more than to continue insisting that he was at fault for leaving Mamoru behind. He was merely avoiding the subject because Mamoru wasn't putting up with it. He sighed, grasping Motoki's shoulder. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Motoki furrowed his brow, obviously puzzled. "For what? Teaching you how short life can be in a frighteningly direct manner?"

"No," Mamoru said harshly. "For... giving a damn."

Motoki's eyes narrowed, his temper rising again. "Of course I give a damn, Mamoru. You're my friend! You--"

"I don't have many, Motoki," Mamoru reminded him. "I don't think many other people care much if I live or die. It's not something I brood about on a regular basis, but I don't want to take the people who are my friends for granted. So... thank you."

Motoki shook his head, accepting the compliment with less grace than he usually did. "I didn't do anything special."

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, like I said, I'm not Mr. Popular, but I certainly don't know many men noble enough to go chasing down an idiotic eight-year-old and nearly get themselves killed."

Motoki blinked. "You saw that?"

Mamoru nodded. "Brat's lucky you were out there. I would have let him get fried. And I probably would have laughed about it afterwards."

Motoki looked at him for a moment before a tentative smile began to creep on to his lips. He shrugged slightly and said, "You would not."

"No, I would have," Mamoru insisted. "Nobody calls me 'mister' in that tone of voice and then gets saved by me in the same day. I make it a personal policy."

"Because you've saved so many people," Motoki countered.

Mamoru paused, trying not to laugh. Eventually he shrugged and said, "You never know. Maybe I moonlight as a superhero."

"If you wear tights, we are no longer speaking."

Mamoru tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I believe that we should employ a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. It's best for everyone."

Motoki nodded, the smile on his face growing wider and returning to its status as a permanent fixture. A few seconds passed between them before Motoki sighed and said, "Well, I should go. Reika's waiting for me at her apartment so that someone can worry over me for a change." He ran a hand through his hair and said, "Sorry for busting into your apartment like that... and for possibly doing something to your car."

Mamoru felt rather ridiculous to realize that the blood was draining from his face. "Oh, God. You drove here when you were..." He shook a finger in Motoki's face, feigning anger. "If I find one thing wrong with my baby--"

Motoki snorted. "It's nice to know your priorities haven't changed." He turned to go, adding, "Listen, I know you have Reika's number. If you start to get dizzy or if anything spontaneously starts bleeding uncontrollably, call me."

"Yes, Motoki," Mamoru said dutifully, although he already knew he would do no such thing.

"And if I actually remembered to leave the Tsukino's number on your machine, you should think about calling Usagi," Motoki said as he started to walk into the main hallway.

Mamoru followed him, thoroughly confused. "Odango? Why would I want to call her?"

Motoki craned to look back at Mamoru over his shoulder and said, "She was just this side of hysterical when I left. She's the one who made me stop calling you and head over here like a bat out of hell. I'm going to give her a ring when I get to Reika's, but you should give her a call."

Before Mamoru could say anything more on that subject, Motoki had waved and told Mamoru he would see him the next day. Still a bit dumbfounded, Mamoru found himself saying goodbye before he could formulate any other relevant sentence. Moments later, the door to his apartment closed and Motoki was gone.

"What happened?" a small female voice called out from somewhere by his feet.

It took Mamoru a minute to locate her, but eventually he made eye contact with Luna. Her brown eyes were filled with just as much concern as Motoki's, but she was clearly in much more control than he had been. Her emotions may have been involved, but it was really business first with her, even if she did care about Mamoru and the girls.

Mamoru sighed and turned to walk back into the apartment. "Jadeite's dead."

Luna's tail swished in surprise. "He is?"

Mamoru nodded. "Rei got him. I hear it was quite... gruesome."

"Death by fire usually is," Luna muttered knowingly, closing her eyes prudently. "Are the girls all right?"

Mamoru laughed mirthlessly and massaged the back of his neck. He flinched when his fingers came into contact with the deep bruise Jadeite had left behind, but he kept rubbing, hoping to alleviate some other aches and pains that were resulting from the kicks. "They're mostly shaken up... Although Rei and Ami aren't exactly on speaking terms." Before Luna could ask for more details, Mamoru held up his hand. "If you want to know what happened, ask one of them. It's not my business to tell you."

Luna frowned, her ears twitching in annoyance. "I will then." She paused, glancing at the few bruises visible to her eyes. "And you? How did you fare?"

Mamoru's fingers stilled with her question. His stormy eyes narrowed into small slits, looking away from her and out towards the city skyline. He could just make out the bay from his vantage point, but even if he hadn't been able to see it, he would have pretended he could. Or maybe he wouldn't have had any choice in the matter. Maybe his near death experience had created some kind of ghost that was going to haunt him for the rest of his days, until he died the next time.

He shuddered involuntarily.

"Mamoru?" Luna repeated, walking forward. "I asked if you were all right."

He nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just... really want to go to bed." Mamoru reached over to the switch and flicked the lights off again. Then he began to make his way back towards his bedroom. "My first exam is tomorrow at ten. If I go to bed now maybe I'll actually be able to make it."

"We'll see," Luna said skeptically, though Mamoru wasn't sure if it was about his insistence that he was well or his hopes that he would be able to get out of bed the next morning. "Are you going to call her?"

Mamoru stopped, looking over his shoulder at Luna. "Who? Reika?"

"No," Luna said testily. "Usagi."

Mamoru blinked, finding that he had nearly forgotten Motoki's suggestion. He thought perhaps that he hadn't wanted to remember it. "Oh. Right." He glanced over at his phone, looking at the twelve messages that he still hadn't listened to. He would delete them in the morning.

But he wouldn't call Usagi at all.

He finally shook his head, saying, "He probably didn't leave me the number anyway."

Before Luna could say anything more, Mamoru faced forward and continued into his bedroom. He shed his clothes as quickly as he could, not even bothering to pull on the pair of sweatpants he normally slept in. He merely collapsed into his bed the second he was down to his underwear, wincing as the lumps in his mattress came into contact with his various bruises. He exhaled, offering up a silent prayer that he would fall asleep quickly and not be tortured by dreams of princesses, sirens, or dead men.

He was granted this wish. He stayed awake long enough to be aware of Luna curling up underneath his arm, the sound of her purring lulling him into a deep sleep. And while he might have dreamt of all of those things and more that night, he didn't remember them when he woke up in the morning. That was the important thing.

-----

After the meeting with Beryl, Nephrite retired to his chambers to consider his next move. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He knew what his plan was, and he knew how he was going to begin to execute it; he just did not know who his victim would be.

He likely should have gotten started immediately but that obligation did not stop him from taking his seat again. He sat perfectly straight, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his fist. He narrowed his eyes pensively, basking in the silence of his chambers for a time. He did not know if it was out of some remainder of respect for Jadeite or if he was merely preparing himself for the start of his mission. If anyone had asked, he would not have immediately been able to come up with the answer, and it wasn't likely that he would go searching for one. Even though he was discontent, he found it sufficient to merely sit, allowing his mind to go blank and not examining his motives.

It was probable that fifteen minutes passed before Nephrite finally tipped his head back, closing his eyes with an unsettling deliberateness. He pictured the stone ceiling above him crumbling away, exposing the heavens that he knew lay above them. Eventually, Nephrite was able to see all of the stars and heavenly bodies ever created. There were stars long dead and stars not yet born and galaxies too far away for any other man to see. He saw the beginning and the end and everything in between and it looked right back at him. In those brief moments, he was at one with creation - something more than human. He gazed upon a sight that perhaps only Zeus had seen before him, and Nephrite knew that he was worthy.

Stars had many secrets. They could see everything even if they did not always understand. With their patterns, they hinted and teased many men before him, fooling them into believing lies and putting faith in coincidence. Some had gone mad, some had risen to greatness, and still others had been killed before either could happen. It had all been the whims of heaven, and they had always known what would become of them.

But only Nephrite could see past their trickery to find truth. In the beginning, they had led him astray, but he had a talent that Copernicus and many other mystics would have killed for. He knew their lies, and therefore, he knew their truth. He did not know if he was intuitive or if it was because he was just as treacherous as they were. It was another thing he did not care to examine.

He merely searched the constellations and the Zodiac, passing by a thousand possibilities he was shown. It took some time but at long last, Nephrite found the one he was searching for. A lonely woman recently spurned by a lover and desperate for a distraction. She would pour all of her energy into her work,  
busying herself beyond her breaking point. But the stars were working in both their favors, conspiring to have her energy reach its peak. All he had to do was enhance it and tap into it once it reached its zenith.

Finally, the stars began to fade and the ceiling remade itself. Nephrite opened his eyes, staring out in front of him.

"Sakurada Haruna," Nephrite muttered to himself. "I'll be seeing you soon.

-----

It was Tuesday morning, and Tsukino Usagi very much wished that she had stayed home.

Her mother had offered - after what had happened the day before, she would have been cruel not to. She'd been a wreck when she'd gotten home. She'd clung to Shingo and wept and screamed and done all sorts of things that made her question her own sanity. But after Motoki had called her about an hour after going to check on Mamoru to inform her that he was all right and that everyone who had been involved was all right, Usagi had declined her mother's offer. She was shaken and terrified and she wanted to say yes, but she couldn't seem to get Ikuko's words out of her head. Ikuko was not willing to let her children stop living because of what was happening. Usagi had never thought of her mother as brave before, but she couldn't help but see that now. So Usagi had decided to be brave too and go on living as normally as possible.

Besides, now she was certain that the city had even more protectors than before. She had gotten to see Tuxedo Kamen again, fighting for her life and for the lives of all those people that man had attacked. And he had friends now. Powerful friends who would help him save the city when it was in danger. She hadn't seen very much (and she was glad of that), but she had seen enough to feel safe now that the chaos had ended. They were strong and capable, and they would do anything to keep innocent people from being hurt. Knowing that was probably the one thing that gave her enough courage to walk out of her house that morning.

"Tsukino-san!"

Usagi sat up ramrod straight, resisting the urge to dive under her desk, though just barely. She looked up into her teacher's blazing green eyes surrounded by eyeliner that had been haphazardly applied that morning. Usagi gulped and stammered out, "Yes, Haruna-sensei?"

"This is not the time to daydream!" Haruna barked, though Usagi could not even begin to guess how the woman had known that her mind was not on the lecture. "If you ever hope to pass your exams, I suggest that you focus on using this study period and stop letting your mind wander!"

After Haruna had turned on her heel, stalking back up to her desk in a manner that made everyone in the aisle lean away from her, Usagi finally let her shoulders droop. Yes, staying home definitely would have been a good idea. It sounded like heaven compared to having to spend the day with a very irritable Haruna.

"She's really in a bad mood, isn't she?" Naru whispered into Usagi's ear.

Terrified of facing even more of Haruna's wrath, Usagi didn't even dare to nod, hoping that Naru would take the hint.

Naru, who was usually at least somewhat intuitive, did not. "And did you notice how bad her make-up looks this morning? You know what that means don't you?"

Usagi did not know what it meant, nor was she interested to find out at that particular moment. Not to say that she wasn't curious, but she wanted to be curious at lunch when Haruna could not punish them for it.

"Look at her hands. They're shaking," Naru continued. "That only happens when she's had too much coffee and that only happens when she hasn't slept and that only happens when she's upset and that's usually because her boyfriend did something. It's got to be why she's so testy this morning. I wonder what he could have--"

"OSAKA-SAN!" Haruna shouted, snapping the chalk she was holding in half. "TSUKINO-SAN!"

"Oh, no," Usagi whimpered.

"Y-yes, Haruna-sensei?" Naru said, her voice shaking with fear and guilt.

By some miracle, Haruna did not publicly lecture them or chase them around the classroom. She merely scowled at them and thrust out her arm, pointing into the hallway. Not wanting Haruna to calm down enough to yell at them, Naru leapt to her feet and grabbed Usagi's wrist, pulling her out into the hallway. They jumped when the door slammed shut behind them.

After a moment, they relaxed, sighing and letting their shoulders sag. Usagi turned to glare at Naru. "Did you have to talk to me about it right then?"

Naru smiled knowingly. "Oh, don't act like you weren't curious."

Usagi stuck her lower lip out, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Well, I am,  
but it could have waited, right?"

"You don't usually care about getting sent out into the hallway," Naru observed. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. "Come to think of it, you've been acting weird all day. You've been really quiet and staring off into space all the time."

"Have I?" Usagi asked softly, turning her head away from Naru.

Naru nodded earnestly. "Usagi, did something happen yesterday?"

Usagi frowned, letting her eyelids droop. She supposed of all people, Naru would be the one to talk to about what had happened. After all, she'd been present at an attack as well. Granted, she'd been unconscious for most of it.

It didn't change the fact that Usagi just didn't want to talk about it. She'd arrived that morning to hear everyone in her class gossiping about the attack.  
They'd spoken of it as though they had been there, but Usagi could tell from the little she allowed herself to listen to that they hadn't been. The story had been embellished so that it was scarcely recognizable, though they all seemed to agree on two things. No one had died, and that was all thanks to Tuxedo Kamen and the two Sailor Senshi.

She'd been invited into the conversation but declined, pretending that she had wanted to take a quick nap. In reality, she'd been wide awake, trying to focus on anything to block out the noise of her friends talking excitedly about what had been one of the most frightening moments of her life.

Oddly enough, Tuxedo Kamen seemed to do just the trick, but she didn't think of him in the context of rescuing her. She thought about wearing a gorgeous white gown under a sea of stars and crystal chandeliers suspended upon the air. She was dancing on water, and when she reached out her hand, he was there, dancing with her. She thought of being close to him, of seeing him smile, of curling up in his lap, and of kissing him under those stars and candlelight. And she thought about seeing his face.

Thinking about him seemed to be the only thing keeping her calm, and in her mind's eye, she could see herself clinging to him, burying her face in his chest while he shielded her from the world and from the dangers beyond it.

"Usagi?" Naru asked, waving a hand in front of her face. "Are you still with me?"

Usagi looked up, a faint blush on her cheeks. After a moment, she remembered herself and nodded brightly, closing her eyes lest they betray anything to her friend. "Yeah! Sorry about that. I... didn't get a lot of sleep last night, so I'm out of it."

Naru smirked and poked her in the arm. "Reading manga again?"

Usagi laughed sheepishly, wishing that had been the case. "Yeah! You know me. I was just so into the story that I didn't even notice the time and--"

She was cut off by Naru gently elbowing her in the ribs with her elbow. Usagi squeaked, looking up to scold Naru. Then she realized that the girl had been trying to get her attention. She nodded, looking out into the hallway. Usagi quickly followed her gaze, a little surprised to see Mizuno Ami walking towards her.

"Ami!" Usagi chirped, waving cheerfully as the girl came closer.

Ami seemed to have been lost in her own thoughts, so she hadn't noticed Usagi and Naru. She looked up from the ground when she heard her name, clearly surprised to have been addressed. She seemed even more surprised when she saw Usagi standing there, though in a different way. She swallowed, looking uncomfortable. "Good morning, Usagi. Osaka-san."

"Good morning, Mizuno-san," Naru responded civilly, though none too warmly.

"How are you?" Usagi asked. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"I'm..." Ami started, clearly starting to say that she was fine, when she seemed to rethink something. She cleared her throat and held up her hall pass. "Actually, I'm not feeling that well, so I--"

"Oh!" Usagi said, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh, of course, go on. I'm so sorry. That was rude of me."

Ami stared at her for a moment. Then she shut her eyes and said, "It wasn't rude at all, Usagi." Before anything more could be said, Ami walked away from Naru and Usagi, moving much faster than she had been before.

Naru shook her head at Usagi, saying, "I told you that you should just forget about her, Usagi. You have been nothing but sweet to her, but she still acts like a total snob!"

Usagi turned to Naru, a little angry and said, "She's not a snob, Naru! Honest! She's just really--"

"Shy," Naru finished. "You keep saying. But there's a difference between being shy and just being unfriendly, and that's Mizuno-san."

Usagi wanted to answer, but at that precise moment, Haruna poked her head out from the classroom. Both Usagi and Naru leapt away as the older woman shouted, "Were you two actually _talking_ out here?! When I was punishing you?!"

Naru and Usagi both bowed apologetically. "We're very sorry, Haruna-sensei," they chorused nervously, hoping that she wouldn't do anything more to them.

"Detention for both of you," Haruna snapped, dragging them back into the classroom. "And if I hear one peep out of either of you today, you'll have detention for the rest of the week."

Neither Usagi nor Naru wanted that, so they both kept their mouths shut for the rest of the day. But Usagi still managed to rack up several more detentions because she could not keep her mind on the lecture. Usagi almost asked Haruna if she could really punish her for thinking about a boy when she was having her own problems in that department, but she decided against it.

After all, it was embarrassing to admit that she had a crush on a man when she'd never even seen his face.

-----

Ami was standing in front of a sink, her palms flat against the cold porcelain, leaning over the spigot as water poured out of it at full blast. She had yet to touch it. For the moment, the sound and the smell of the water was enough to soothe her. However, judging by the way her throat kept tightening up, she might need to splash her face before too long.

Running into Usagi had done her no favors, but it hadn't been the reason Ami had gone to the bathroom. She'd endured more than enough trauma in the past twenty-four hours to send her reeling. She still didn't know how she managed to keep herself together during her exams, although she was sure that her teachers would be shocked by her poor performance this term. But some things were more important even than that.

For one thing, she was still learning to cope with nearly losing Mamoru. Every time she thought of him or water or anything else even remotely connected with the incident, she started trembling all over again. It didn't help that it seemed to be everyone's favorite topic of discussion that morning. She'd ducked out of her classroom several times already, telling her teacher that she wasn't feeling well. She would have felt guilty for lying but she was being very honest with him. The only reason she hadn't vomited that day was because she hadn't eaten anything since before yesterday's attack.

Ami had never been so terrified in her entire life. She had known that death was a possible consequence of what they were doing. She would have been an incredible fool not to realize that. But it had never been that close to her before then. Mamoru had been in Death's hands; it had taken him away for several minutes. And if she had gotten there just a few minutes later, or if she hadn't come around and been found by Jadeite...

Ami whimpered and shoved her head underneath the spigot, forcing the freezing water to calm her down.

Her guilt over having gone after Mamoru in the first place wasn't helping matters either. Everything Rei had said to her the day before was playing over and over again in her mind. It had gotten to the point where she could scarcely concentrate on her examinations. All she could hear was Rei's voice in her head, accusing her of being a coward among other things.

Ami shut her eyes tightly, emerging from the water to take a quick breath before returning to the exercise. It would have hurt regardless, but it was worse knowing that Rei was right on some level. In a perfect situation, Ami wouldn't have left her. Looked at from one point of view - Rei's point of view - Ami should not have abandoned her full stop. She felt terrible about what she had done, and Rei's reaction once it was all over had not helped matters.

Nevertheless, Ami also knew that logically, there had been nothing else she could do. Jadeite had taken Tuxedo Kamen, and he stood no chance against the man on his own. None of them did. It was a miracle that Rei had managed to catch him unaware, and lucky in and of itself that Rei had been the one left behind. Rei's comment about how she was the only one capable of doing him harm had been scathing, but it hadn't been a lie. There was no way that Ami could have left Tuxedo Kamen alone with Jadeite in good conscience, and if Ami had known that Jadeite would be coming back for Rei while she was gone, her decision would have been that much harder. But if she had stayed with Rei, Mamoru would be dead.

Moreover, Ami herself may have been killed in an attempt to save Rei had the other girl not woken up. And perhaps Rei would have gone down with her. There was no telling what could have happened, but Ami knew for certain that things had worked out for the best.

Unfortunately, her emotions couldn't have cared less.

Ami threw her head back, sending a spray of water onto the mirror. She glanced up, taking in her distorted reflection. When she looked at herself, all she could see was a white-faced girl with wet hair and eyes that conveyed nothing but numbness.

But Rei saw incompetence, cowardice, and in spite of all the steps she had taken towards improvement, weakness. The priestess took no time to mask her opinions of others. Ami had seen all that and more long before the fiasco in the alley. A confrontation would likely do nothing but bring them out again. Perhaps it would even be worse now that Rei had had time to think about what she should have said.

Yet Ami knew that there was no way to avoid talking to Rei about what had happened.

Even though Jadeite was dead, none of them doubted that their fight was nowhere near over. He had been clear that he was part of an organization, and they would likely be sending out a replacement within a matter of days.

Ami had no choice but to settle her dispute with Rei. They had to be able to work together under stressful situations, and that meant that they had to be able to get along. Any friction between them would have a negative impact on future battles, and Ami wasn't willing to risk the safety of others because Rei was angry with her.

"It's settled then," Ami murmured. She pressed her lips together and reached down to turn the water off. Then she stood in the silence of the bathroom, wishing that there was some other way to fix things.

-----

Rei pulled her hands from the water, turning off the tap with her elbows as she shook her fingers dry roughly, sending a small spray of water around her. She glared at it as if it had done her some great disservice, when actually it had only wet her skirt a bit. Still, she found herself irritated with that water and then water in general and then all things associated with water. Naturally, this got her thinking about Ami once again, which was the very person she had come to the bathroom to forget. And thus, Rei found herself become grumpy again, scowling into the mirror.

Rei was still beyond infuriated with Ami. If she had not woken up in time to roast Jadeite, she'd probably be dead. Getting rid of him might have been a bit of a confidence booster, but it was overshadowed by the near-death experience Ami had arranged for her. It had been dangerous and disrespectful and stupid.

She still couldn't remember making the decision to attack or even putting forth the effort it must have taken to produce that much fire. All she could remember was the aftermath, shaking like a spider on its web while she watched what had looked like a human being made of fire fleeing from the alley. She could still remember the sound of his scream, full of anguished defeat and excruciating pain. She wanted to reach into her ears and yank out the sound, tossing it in the nearby garbage bin, but it wasn't that simple. It was something that was going to haunt her for some time.

And it was only going to haunt her. She had been the only one to see it. Perhaps that was partially why she was so angry. Ami should have been there to suffer through that with her. She should not have been alone.

Rei shook her head roughly, running her fingers through her hair to fix nonexistent fly-aways. She was just stalling at this point, but she doubted any of the sisters would blame her if they knew anything about what had happened. It was bad enough that she couldn't get her mind off of it, but she didn't have anything to distract her. It was a day full of nothing but study periods and test-taking. The monotony was positively maddening, and Rei didn't know how she was going to make it through the day without yelling at someone.

Then three girls from the class below her walked in and that prediction became a certainty.

"So, tell us what it was like!" the one with pigtails squealed in a register that Rei thought was entirely too high-pitched to be legal.

"Yeah, you said you were going to call and then you didn't call!" the chubbier one whined. "I was up until at least midnight waiting for you. I hardly got any sleep!"

Rei made a face at that comment and muttered, "Pathetic."

The girl currently being interrogated, who had been in trouble multiple times for wearing her blouse too low-cut (though who she was showing off for in a school full of women was beyond Rei), blushed and said, "Oh, the date was absolutely wonderful. He paid for everything, and we went to this really cute little cafe and sat in the back corner where it was dark."

The chubby one nearly salivated at this detail, making Rei curl her lip in disgust. "Did you kiss him? Did you kiss him?"

Rei noticed that the girl's blush did not increase as she wound her finger into her ponytail, twirling the end of it, probably thinking that this made her appear coy.  
"Well, I don't want to say..."

The first girl nearly shrieked, and Rei couldn't help but listen at the window to see if any dogs howled in response. "Oh, my God! You did!" Then she seemed to remember herself and said, "Don't you think that maybe you should have waited until you had been seeing him for longer?"

"I've known him since we were kids," the girlfriend said indignantly, straightening her shoulders and making the other one shrink back in response. "Besides, he's taken me out before. This is just the first time he paid."

"But you did kiss him?" she asked again, apparently finding that the last bit of conversation wasn't enough to confirm the answer.

"Did you use tongue?" the drooling one asked.

That did it for Rei. She practically squawked and rounded on the three, leaning in aggressively. "Do you three have any idea how rude you're being?"

They stared back at her in shock, making it perfectly clear that they did not.

Rei narrowed her eyes and continued, saying, "Does it look like I want to know the details of your little date with some snot-nosed brat with absolutely no taste in girlfriends?" she paused for an answer even though she meant it rhetorically. "If it does, I highly suggest you go to the nearest neurologist because you are clearly hallucinating."

They continued to look at her, stunned into what Rei thought was blissful silence. Sadly, it did not last as long as Rei had hoped. Eventually, the squeaky one mustered up the courage to point a trembling finger in Rei's direction. "Excuse me... but are you Hino Rei?"

"Yes," Rei snapped, too annoyed to think of why she would have asked that.

The bigger girl hopped up and down for a moment, excited by this discovery. "Wow! It really is true what they say about you!"

Rei arched an eyebrow, curious as to who they were and why they felt they needed to talk about her in the first place. "What's that?" she asked, deciding to keep her interrogation to a minimum.

"That you have the best insults in the whole school!" the girlfriend said earnestly.

The first girl went positively sparkly-eyed. "You're so awesome."

Rei thought she felt a blood vessel burst in her right eye. She stomped her foot and pointed to the door sharply, shouting, "Out! Out of this bathroom right now, or I'll report you to the nuns for loitering!"

The pig-tailed girl was confused. "But isn't that what you're doing?"

This, of course, was the last straw. Rei wasn't entirely sure what she screamed at them over the next five or ten seconds, but she was quite certain that it was not her best material. Thankfully, the volume was enough to chase the trio out, though she could tell that she hadn't swayed their high opinion of her and her poor disposition.

She would be amused by and even proud of this later. Just not at that precise moment.

Rei huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder and turning back to glare at the mirror now that any real targets had been chased off. As if she hadn't been in a bad enough mood. Then she had to listen to some thirteen-year-olds giggle and fawn over some "relationship" that would likely prove to be nothing more than fabrication or misunderstanding. She had helped to save two of their classmates from certain doom the day before, but did they care about that? No. All they cared about were boys and kisses and shared milkshakes and other such prepubescent fantasies. It was frivolous, almost meaningless, and she very much wished that such talk was enough to distract her.

Suddenly, Rei had her brilliant idea. At the moment of her epiphany, her eyes lit up, her back straightened, and she actually managed to get her mind off her double life.

Rei needed a boyfriend.

It was the perfect solution to a very irritating problem. Having a boyfriend would mean having a life outside of the shrine and taking care of her grandfather. It would provide ample distraction from that and from her time spent as Sailor Mars. Granted, it meant being a bit more busy than usual, but it wasn't as if she wasn't accustomed to juggling multiple projects at once. Surely she would be able to handle a boyfriend, her grandfather, her work at the shrine, the various committees she headed and organizations she worked for, and saving the city every now and again. It wasn't as if she needed much sleep.

There was just one problem. This was hardly the first time she had ever thought about having a boyfriend. And while she had never settled on the idea with such conviction before, there was still the obstacle of finding the right guy. She did have very high standards after all. He had to be good-looking, fairly stylish,  
and be willing to follow her instructions without too much complaint. Not that she wanted a complete drone of course. She just needed someone malleable enough to do everything exactly the way she wanted.

A few seconds later, Rei had her answer. She smirked into the mirror, fluffing up her hair in spite of the fact that it would be quite some time before she actually sought out her prey. She winked at no one in particular and said, "Get ready, Chiba Mamoru. I'm coming for you."

The hunt was on.

-----

It had already been a day filled with somewhat awkward silences, and it was only just now becoming noon. Upon seeing each other, neither Motoki nor Mamoru knew exactly what should be addressed or if anything should be addressed at all. They had already ascertained that no serious physical harm had befallen either one of them. There was really nothing more to say on the subject, but both of them knew on some level that there was, in fact, much, much more to be said. Unfortunately, they also both knew that the subject was as good as closed as far as Mamoru was concerned, and Motoki knew that pressure was not the best way to get his friend to cooperate. Instead, he merely told Mamoru that he had gotten in touch with Usagi, that she was very glad he was all right, and that all of them were well, save the emotional trauma. That said, a silent agreement had passed between the two to not speak of the previous day's events again. At least not for a very long time.

Unfortunately, this agreement resulted in another problem that Mamoru was less than thrilled about.

"Motoki, are you going to blink at any point in time?" Mamoru asked, a shrimp poised to pass through his teeth and make its way down his esophagus to more acidic pastures.

"I'm thinking," Motoki said in a tone that was almost defensive but wound up being little more than distracted.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "And you have to stare at me to do this thinking?"

Motoki shrugged. "It helps."

Mamoru frowned and said, "Is this about the kids' names again? I already told you, we are not naming our firstborn after your sister. I plan to have nothing but sons, and I will not see him being beat up every day for having a girl's name."

This pulled Motoki from his reverie enough to ball up a piece of paper near him and pitch it at Mamoru's head. Thankfully, this meant that Mamoru could go back to eating without being stared at, so he didn't mind the potential paper cut to his cornea.

"What? No comment about how you'll leave me if I continue to be abusive?" Motoki asked dryly.

Mamoru swallowed his current mouthful of food. "Please, Motoki. You know I never talk with my mouth full." He took a sip of his coffee, his third cup that day, and added, "Now, if you had been patient and waited for me to finish chewing, I would have said something far more clever than that. But alas, the moment has passed, and you will forever be deprived of it."

"I'm weeping on the inside," Motoki assured him.

"You are desolate and shamed on the inside," Mamoru corrected.

Tiring of this line of conversation, Motoki decided to shift it to suit his purposes. "I was thinking about whatever it is that's wrong with you."

Mamoru's hand stopped before his mouthful of rice actually made it past his lips. His eyes flickered up to meet Motoki's, hoping that they were not conveying the fact that his stomach was currently doing a gymnastics routine. "What do you mean?"

Motoki frowned. "I'm not an idiot, Mamoru."

Mamoru coughed discreetly, thinking of how much easier his life would be if Motoki were an idiot. Then again, they wouldn't be friends at all if Motoki were an idiot, so it was immaterial.

"You're missing classes," Motoki continued. "You always seem tired. You seem to flinch just about every time you sit down. You're distant. You're--"

"You're slightly obsessive about me," Mamoru interrupted, narrowing his eyes a bit. "Did you know?"

Motoki leaned back a bit, perhaps sensing the bite beneath the otherwise light-hearted remark. It seemed to only confirm his previous suspicions, making Mamoru wish that he had just let Motoki go on until he had reached the end of his diatribe. He didn't make mention of it, however, perhaps putting it down to Mamoru's reported insomnia. He merely shook his head and said, "It's just that there seems to be only one reason for your behavior as of late, and I must say Mamoru, I'm very disappointed in you."

Mamoru looked over at Motoki for a moment, once again reaching down for another bite of food as he asked, "What exactly have I done to earn your disapproval, best friend of mine?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that you got a girlfriend."

Naturally, Motoki got this sentence out just as Mamoru was about to swallow his last bite of food, resulting in a spectacular coughing fit that attracted the attention of several passers-by. Mamoru punched his chest to try and move the food along, concerned that he might start to asphyxiate it if he couldn't stop coughing.

"Do I need to Heimlech you?" Motoki asked disinterestedly, knowing that as long as Mamoru could produce enough air to cough, he was perfectly fine.

Still, Mamoru didn't appreciate the glib attitude Motoki was suddenly regarding his life with. Once Mamoru had finally swallowed the offensive shellfish, he glared at his friend openly. "What gave you the idea that I have a girlfriend?"

Motoki shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, I don't know. Multiple cups of coffee. Sleepless nights. Unexplained bruises. It seems to be the obvious explanation."

"I do **not** have a girlfriend," Mamoru snapped, realizing too late that an imaginary girlfriend could actually serve to explain a lot of unexplainable things to Motoki. However, upon further consideration, creating another person to try and keep track of and fabricate interactions with would have been far more trouble than it was worth. Thus, in this case, honesty was the best policy.

"Oh?" Motoki questioned, unconvinced.

"Yes," Mamoru reiterated with conviction. "I am not seeing anyone. I am not thinking of seeing anyone. I am not having a fling with a married or unmarried person. I am thoroughly unattached."

"'Methinks the lady doth protest too much,'" Motoki quoted with a smirk.

Mamoru scowled, saying nothing.

Motoki thankfully got the hint. "You have to admit, Mamoru. The clues add up."

He did have to concede that point. "Nevertheless, you forgot to factor in one other thing."

"I did?" Motoki asked, furrowing his brow. "What's that?"

Mamoru grabbed a mouthful of Motoki's food before the fairer boy could protest. "I hate relationships." To punctuate his statement, he popped the bit of food into his mouth, but the effect was ruined when he screwed up his face in disgust. "How can you eat this? It's just a bunch of spice with a little meat seasoning."

"Serves you right," Motoki insisted, turning back to his lunch. "And I'd thought you had gotten past your perpetual bachelor phase."

"It isn't a phase," Mamoru maintained, grabbing Motoki's water to recover from his ordeal. "It is a lifestyle choice."

"To be alone forever?" Motoki asked.

Mamoru shrugged casually, finding that this subject was not as big of a deal as others seemed to think. "I see no point in associating myself with another human being simply because of some preconceived notion that everyone should be attached to someone else. I have no need for female companionship. Besides, I'd be terrible at it. I'm a workaholic, I'm not terribly sociable, and a certain someone has told me that I'm an... oh, how did you put it... an embittered curmudgeon destined to be the crazy old man that advocates beating children for not tying their shoes correctly."

Motoki feigned being offended. "I would never say that about you, Mamoru." He paused, making Mamoru wait for the inevitable punch line. "You'll never be an old man. You're destined to die young."

Mamoru probably should have found that amusing. After all, there were case studies about how people who were married had a longer life expectancy. Of course that was what Motoki was referring to.

But all Mamoru could think about was the murderous look in Jadeite's eye, the murky water of the bay, and the knowledge that he had been technically dead for at least a few minutes before Mercury came to find him. Mamoru found himself mulling over the fact that Motoki had no idea how right he was, how his prediction had already come true, and how likely it was that it was going to happen again if they couldn't get it together and fast.

"Mamoru?"

He looked up to find Motoki was staring at him, though he seemed a great deal more concerned than he had been a few moments before. He was obviously debating whether or not he had wanted to touch Mamoru to break him out of his reverie. Mamoru was grateful that he had decided against it.

"Yeah," Mamoru croaked, his throat feeling unbearably dry all of a sudden. "Sorry. Did you say something?"

Motoki shook his head. "No, you just... You went white." He narrowed his eyes, thinking back to the day before, but not saying anything about it directly. "Are you sure you're all right? Maybe you should--"

"I have another exam in a few hours, Motoki," Mamoru sighed. "My professors are all threatening to fail me at this point, and I could hardly blame them if they did." He checked his watch, getting to his feet. "Speaking of which, I'm making up a lab in a few minutes, and if I'm three seconds late, I think I'm going to be sacrificed to some demon god. Mind throwing this away for me?"

Motoki continued looking at Mamoru for a moment, not answering. He hadn't gotten an answer on what was wrong with Mamoru, and the last few seconds had likely done nothing to ease his worries. Still, he wouldn't press the issue. He nodded wordlessly, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"Thanks," Mamoru said, gathering up his things. He turned to go, but looked over his shoulder to add. "The last thing I need is a girlfriend, Motoki. I have way too much going on."

Mamoru walked away after that, thinking later that that had to be the understatement of the century.

-----

"I need a man."

Sakurada Haruna found herself saying that precise sentence several times throughout her daily routine; however, she felt that in this instance, her lamentations were extremely appropriate.

Haruna was not a rich woman, and as a result of that unfortunate circumstance, she did not have the best vehicle that had ever been created. It was going on ten years old, and she had been spending a great deal of money keeping it together for the last four. The driver's side window jammed (usually halfway between open and closed in the middle of a snowstorm). The brakes squealed (though when passengers became worried, she assured them that this merely meant that they were working). And dings from the amount of fender-benders and shopping cart incidents peppered the framework in haphazard chaos (extremely frustrating since none of them had been remotely her fault whatsoever).

On this particular day, Haruna's car had decided that it was not going to start. She had been afraid of such a thing happening for the past few weeks, and, of course, it had finally died on the one day she was running late while it was raining after she had lost her umbrella some four days prior.

"It all just happens at once, doesn't it?" Haruna ground out through clenched teeth. She could feel her left eyebrow begin to spasm, a habit she had picked up during her adolescence when her mother had given birth to three identical accidents who liked to bite. "It all happens at once, and it always happens to me!"

Haruna, however, was not going to give up so easily. So she sat in her car for a good ten minutes, continually turning the key in the ignition. Each time, she prayed that the engine would randomly decide to turn over so that she could get going. Unfortunately, God was not listening to her that day, and her vehicle refused to respond to the number of threats she made against it.

"Come on," Haruna growled. "I have things to do, you piece of junk. I do not have time for this."

The car continued to ignore her until Haruna got so fed up with it that she started hitting the steering wheel, although what she hoped to accomplish doing that was a mystery even to her. When this was not enough to circumvent her rage, she screamed, sounding far too much like a crazed psychopath for her neighbors' liking. Once she ran out of air, she fell forward, her forehead lightly hitting the horn. The light tap was enough to cause her overzealous horn to blare out, scaring her out of her wits.

Haruna sat straight up, panting for a few minutes before she managed to get as close to being relaxed as she could manage. She sighed, closing her eyes. The car itself was really only part of her frustration, though she was loathe to admit it. The other half was the fact that her now ex-boyfriend was quite interested in cars. He had done all of her repairs for the past few months now, and she had thought that it was quite a handy skill for a potential husband to have. She had gotten her hopes up even when she had promised herself that she wouldn't.

She could always break down and call him of course. He would just be waking up, and he didn't live that far away. She couldn't even question whether or not he would come. They had a somewhat notorious on-again/off-again relationship. Generally, when one called the other, one thing would lead to another and whatever problem they had had would be forgotten, though rarely resolved.

Unfortunately for both of them, Haruna was in no mood for reconciliation. If he wanted her back, he could pick up the phone and take the first step, but she wasn't about to do that. After all, it was his fault. She had definitely caught him looking at that tawdry waitress's cleavage right in front of her. What was she supposed to do?

Well, she certainly knew that she wasn't going to call him to fix her car and have him think that it was some sort of code language. She would not have him come over to find out that she had been quite serious about the car, and though it would have gotten fixed, she was quite aware of how she got around him. Before she knew it, they would be kissing in the front seat and then she'd never make it to school and she would hate herself for giving in like she always seemed to do.

And that was why she could not call him no matter how much she wanted to. Even if that did mean that she was going to have to arrive at school half an hour late and soaked to the bone. Never mind that it was exams week and she had stayed up half the night grading exams that weren't due for another week and half to avoid going to sleep and dreaming about Akihito. She had known from the start that it was going to be a horrible day. But did it really have to be a bad-hair day as well?

Haruna whimpered pathetically and fell forward again, this time taking care to avoid the horn. "I hate my life," she whined.

"That's an awfully strong opinion for this hour of the morning."

Smooth though it had been, Haruna couldn't help but jump at the sound of another person's voice. She looked up and was surprised to see an exceptionally good-looking man she had never seen before standing next to her car. If she hadn't already known that he didn't live in her apartment complex (as Haruna had memorized the appearance, status, and income of every male in her building), she certainly would have known it from his attire. She almost wanted to ask him what he was doing there, but that would have been rude, and the last thing she was going to do was be rude to a man who was smiling at her like that.

After a moment that probably seemed much longer than it actually was, Haruna was able to respond. "I find that my opinions are strong no matter what the hour, particularly when there is so much evidence to support it." She meant it, but she was sure to smile when she said it, hoping that her hair wasn't too messed from when she had tried to pull it out of her scalp earlier.

He chuckled, his ice blue eyes briefly closing in amusement. "Car trouble?"

"Among other things," Haruna muttered, taking a moment to compare this man to her ex-boyfriend. They were about even in looks, but this man definitely had a leg up on Akihito in funds, and that meant that she was as of now completely unattached. She smiled up at the stranger with as much allure as was proper for a school teacher in distress and said, "I don't suppose you know anything about cars, do you?"

She expected him to say no, which was why she was so surprised when the man shrugged off his white jacket, tossing it to her casually. She caught it with a blush, staring at him as he walked around to the front of her car and popped open the hood. She climbed out of the car as quickly as she could, grateful that she had parked under the awning the night before. "You really don't have to help."

"It's no trouble," the stranger said as he leaned forward to get a better look at the engine. Haruna took the opportunity to get a better look at this man's physique, and as far as she was concerned, Akihito had ceased to exist.

"Are you sure?" she asked, hoping that she wasn't talking him out of it.

He looked up at her and grinned, and she was quite sure that he made her blush again. "Quite."

Haruna stood on her tip-toes to get a look at what this man was doing, but it was all for naught. She had absolutely no idea what went where and she quickly gave up the attempt. Besides, this stranger's exceptionally broad shoulders made it difficult for her to see. "It's very nice of you to do this," she offered lamely,  
wanting to keep the conversation going. "I don't know many men who would stop to help a perfect stranger."

"Many men are idiots," he replied smoothly. "I'm no genius, but I do believe in chivalry. It's a dying art, and I think that's a shame."

Haruna glanced down at her nails casually even if he wasn't paying the slightest attention to her. "Your wife must think she's very lucky," she said, hoping that her hope didn't betray itself in her voice.

He laughed. "I'm not married."

Haruna perked up considerably. "Really? Oh, but surely you must have a girlfriend."

"No, actually," he said lightly, as if he didn't think this portion of the conversation had any consequence. He strained for a minute as he rearranged some parts of her engine. "If I were involved, I don't think I'd have time to help lovely ladies in their hour of need." He glanced up at her and smiled before returning to his work.

Haruna had to physically restrain herself from jumping up and down in joy. Or worse, jumping him. She was a respectable lady after all, and respectable ladies did not go around leaping upon every handsome man who knew his way around a carburetor.

"I also doubt I'd have time to cook as much as I do," he added nonchalantly.

It was at that moment that Haruna knew that she had just met her future husband. She closed her eyes in glee, picturing them standing in front of the priest, tears streaming down the handsome stranger's face as he professed everlasting love to her, and her married sisters glaring at their husbands and wondering what they had ever done to deserve such buffoons. She sighed happily, clapping her hands together.

She was so involved in these thoughts that she didn't notice the strange light emanating from underneath the hood of her car.

"There," he proclaimed, slamming the hood shut with satisfaction. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the grease from his fingers. "That should do it. Do me a favor and test it just to make sure."

Haruna would have done just about anything as a favor to him at that point, so she did not hesitate in popping behind the wheel and keying the ignition. In spite of her confidence in her rescuer, she still gasped when the engine finally turned over. She leaned out of her window, handing the man's jacket back to him reluctantly. "I can't thank you enough..."

He instantly picked up on why she was trailing off and tipped an imaginary hat at her. "Sanjouin Masato."

"Sakurada Haruna," she replied, perhaps a bit too eagerly. If that was the case, he barely blinked. "You are truly a miracle-worker."

Masato shrugged casually. "I don't know about that, Haruna-san. I prefer to think of it as being exceptionally lucky." He grinned at her, making sure that she knew there was a double meaning to that statement.

She giggled girlishly, hoping that it made her seem younger than she actually was. "I hope I'll see you again, Sanjouin-san."

He chuckled. "Somehow, I think it will be difficult to avoid such a meeting."

-----

Ami stared up the seemingly endless flight of stairs, wanting nothing more than to turn around and go home. She knew it was silly to be frightened of facing a human being after everything she had gone through, but it wasn't something that she could shake no matter how hard she tried. Rei was just as terrifying as any youma. Perhaps more so.

"You're being silly," Ami murmured to herself, trying to be reasonable. "She's not going to light you on fire or some other nonsense. The worst she can do is yell."

Knowing that did not make Ami go up the stairs any faster.

She sighed, hanging her head. She may as well just give up. She was never going to work up the courage to face the Fire Senshi. Perhaps she could just ignore it and the whole thing would eventually blow over.

She pondered that for a moment and then shook her head. No, there was no chance of that happening. She was going to have to talk to Rei eventually, and it might as well happen now. No sense in putting things off.

Ami closed her eyes. "Idiot, idiot. I am an idiot."

"I think that's rather appropriate actually."

Ami practically jumped out of her skin, spinning around to face the speaker. Just as she had feared, it was Rei standing behind her. Clearly, Ami was not a welcome sight.

"Rei," Ami croaked, her mouth suddenly going dry. "G-Good afternoon."

Rei rolled her eyes. "Do we really have to suffer through pleasantries, Ami?"

Ami supposed they didn't have to, but the fact of the matter was that she had been hoping for at least ten minutes of small talk for her to ease into the situation.  
Now that Rei had thrown that notion out the window, Ami had no idea how to begin. She stammered for a few seconds before Rei finally lost patience.

"Honestly, Ami, you've faced me before without any trouble," Rei pointed out, already at her wit's end. "What's different now?"

The difference was that no one's life was on the line. There had been motivation for Ami's courage when she had thrust the henshin pen into Rei's hands previously. Now she was there of her own volition with only a vague idea of what was to come in the battle. Sadly, it wasn't enough to make her feel steady.

"I just came..." Ami finally managed to force out. "To apologize."

Rei looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. When it didn't happen, she raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. "Well?"

Ami had rather hoped that would be enough, but that had obviously been wishful thinking. She took a deep breath and pressed on. "I just wanted you to know... that in another situation, I wouldn't have--"

"Left me to be killed or worse by the forces of evil?" Rei asked dryly. "If that's all you have to say, Ami, I'd much rather you left." She began to ascend the stairs.

Miraculously, Ami's feet started to ascend behind her. "Rei, I really am sorry. But Mamoru was--"

"I don't really care what Mamoru's situation was," Rei snapped.

She felt her cheeks color and her fingers tighten around the handle of her briefcase. "He would have died."

Rei came to an abrupt halt. Ami saw that she nearly dropped her case in surprise. She stood there for a moment, and Ami thought that perhaps she had gotten through to the priestess. Her hopes were dashed when Rei shook her head, turning to glare at Ami over her shoulder. "If you had tried to bring me around, maybe we both could have done him some good," Rei said.

"I did try," Ami insisted, shocked that Rei had thought otherwise. "You didn't respond."

Rei huffed, annoyed that Ami had found a hole in her logic. "Obviously you didn't try hard enough."

Ami truly resented that comment. She stomped up so that she was on the same step as Rei, now eye-to-eye with her. "I tried as hard as I could! Now, I'm not saying I'm proud of what happened--"

"I should hope not," Rei spat, violet eyes flashing.

"But I didn't have a choice," Ami continued, undaunted. "I had to go save Mamoru, and if I hadn't gotten there when I had, he would be dead right now. Jadeite was already gone when I arrived, but I had to drag Mamoru out of the bay and give him CPR. He was clinically dead, Rei. I don't see how you can still be upset with me knowing that."

For a moment, Ami thought she saw Rei's face soften. It seemed as if she had finally gotten through to Rei the difficulty she faced in making her decision to go help Mamoru instead of staying with her, but then Rei did something strange. She laughed as if something about their situation was actually amusing.

"Stop it, Ami. You'll send me into hysterics."

Ami stared at her in confusion. "What do you--"

"I still can't believe that you actually thought you'd be able to help with Jadeite," Rei interrupted. "It was a stroke of luck that you arrived after everything happened. If you had gotten there earlier, all of us would be dead. Of that I'm quite sure."

Ami felt rebuked and embarrassed, but she tried to make it seem like she was angry. She wasn't doing a very good job. "I could have--"

"Done what?" Rei asked. "Made him get lost in a fog? Given him an impromptu shower? Please." She flipped her hair and then pointed at Ami, eyes narrowed. "The fact of the matter is that you should have waited until I came around. You were no match for Jadeite, and you knew it, but you still went after him. I would have been able to do something. I did do something. I killed him. What would you have done?"

Unfortunately, Ami didn't have an answer for that. She felt her lower lip begin to tremble.

"I saved his life," Ami maintained, her voice a painful whisper.

Rei scoffed. "So you gave him CPR. So what? It's common heroism. I'm the one that managed to take care of Jadeite."

Ami shut her eyes as she felt her nose start to itch from heat. She would not cry. She would not shed one tear in front of Rei when that had obviously been her goal from the start. "I'm not worthless. I helped."

"But you were wrong," Rei said again, and this time Ami believed it. "And I can't forgive you for that."

Rei left her after that, perhaps to preserve Ami's dignity.

Ami sat down on the stairs of the shrine. She pulled her knees to her chest and covered her ears to shield them from the memory of Rei's harsh words. But it didn't stop the noise nor did it mask the truth of them. And it also didn't block out the sound of her crying or the crows crying out, indifferent to her pain.

-----

He knew he was dreaming because he was waltzing. While Mamoru didn't think he had two left feet, he also knew that he was not that talented.

They were twirling in a dance floor covered by fog. Occasionally, he would see a tall candelabra rising from the smoke or the hint of a chandelier hanging above them in spite of the lack of ceiling. He was reminded of _The Phantom of the Opera_ and smiled grimly at the realization that he was wearing a mask.

He didn't dwell on that long, however, because he had to focus most of his attention on his dance partner. He knew instinctively that she was the same princess as before, but not even their proximity did anything to hint at her identity. She was just as elusive as ever, her features becoming inexact every time he tried to focus on them. All he could be sure of was her hair, golden as ancient coins when they were new.

Or maybe it was silver.

He sighed, unable to stop himself. "I wish you would show me your face."

"My face has no importance," she replied, and he was surprised that she was no longer being cryptic. He began to hope they might actually have a conversation. "You know me even if you can't see me."

Mamoru had absolutely no idea what she meant by that, and he decided not to press the issue. Instead, he remained true to duty, thinking that Luna would be proud of him. "Are you the princess we're looking for?"

Even though he couldn't actually get a clear picture of her face, he could tell she was pondering the question. She knew the answer, but there was only so much she could reveal. Heaven forbid she make this easy for him after all. "I am a princess," she said finally. "And I am looking for something I need you to find. In that way, I suppose I could be."

They continued twirling, spinning the fog around them as they did so. It swirled around them like a makeshift typhoon, and Mamoru thought he could see silhouettes in them every now and again. Sometimes he saw other couples. Other times he saw monsters. He tried not to focus on it too much either way.

"Why should I do anything for you?" he asked, embittered and bold because of it. "I don't know you."

"You know me," she said smoothly. "You're just unaware."

He wanted to kick something. Preferably her. "I wish you could be direct about something."

"I could be direct," she said in a voice that he was certain was amused. "You're just not asking the right questions."

He scowled. "Wonderful," he drawled. "I'm trapped in a cliché fantasy novel. Isn't that spectacular?"

"I wouldn't know," she joked. "I haven't read any."

Mamoru stared and then laughed at her quip before he could put a stop to it. Then he turned back to his partner, trying once again to gaze into her eyes. He tried to focus on the color of her iris but all he saw was white.

"I do need your help," she said quietly, as if softened by the intensity of his gaze. "Truly."

"And I would like to help you," Mamoru replied, surprised by his honesty. "But there isn't much I can do if you continue to be evasive."

She sighed regretfully and twirled away from him for a moment, still grasping his hand. "It is the way it must be."

"Why?" he asked, wishing it had not sounded so painful the moment it left his lips.

"I know not," she answered, sounding a bit irritated. She was in his arms once again and they continued their movements. "Help me anyway."

She was practically pleading with him yet still retaining her pride. It was an admirable achievement, one that broke down his last defenses. Then again, he had been willing to do anything for her when she was just a silhouette. Her tangibility had made him bristle, but she'd broken him down as if he were barely solid. He could make no further pretense.

"What do you need?" he queried. "No riddles."

"I need the Ginzuishou," she stated simply, clearing up absolutely nothing.

He hadn't noticed the music before, but when he heard it, he realized that it called for a dip. He did so, irritated with the mandatory move and her endless ambiguities. Mamoru looked down at her, his jaw set and his hand rough on the small of her back. "What is the Ginzuishou?"

He could sense her surprise, as if not knowing was somehow blasphemy. There was a moment of silence as they hung there, caught between the passing seconds in a perfect pose no one else could see. Then she spoke and he could already feel things beginning to recede as if something were waking him up.

"The Ginzuishou is everything."

Mamoru woke up after that to the sound of his alarm going off. He had gone to bed early, planning to wake up at three in the morning in order to finish the final draft on one of his papers. However, as he grumbled and reached over to begin his half hour ritual of hitting the snooze button, he was fairly sure that he would be going back to sleep for a few more hours and damn all the consequences.

He didn't know why of course. He would not return to that dream. Even if he could, she would not tell him anything else. She couldn't for whatever reason. Law of Dreamland or some other crap.

He cursed quietly and buried his face in the pillow. The dreams were coming more and more frequently, and they were also becoming clearer. He had never been close enough to touch her before. He might even be able to see her at the rate he was going. He wasn't sure why that mattered so much to him, especially after she had told him that it didn't matter, but it hardly changed his desire to see her face. He knew already that she was beautiful. Possibly more beautiful than any real girl he had ever met. The promise of something that awe-inspiring was daunting. It wouldn't let him alone and neither would she.

Of course, he supposed he should be grateful for the encounter. He knew a bit more than he had known before. He had more questions, yes, but at least he finally knew what he was meant to look for.

The Ginzuishou.

He had absolutely no idea what the princess could possibly want with a "mysterious silver crystal," but it wasn't like she would tell him if he asked. Perhaps it was some trinket given to her by a lover and she couldn't move on to the afterlife until it was located. That didn't explain why he was the one who had to look for it, but it was all he could come up with in his sleepy haze.

In addition to that, she had also hinted at the idea that she and the Moon Princess were one in the same. He had been assuming so for awhile, but she still had not confirmed it. Even so, he felt justified in continuing to associate the two together. He didn't much want to think about dealing with two princesses. One was troublesome enough, and she wasn't even corporeal.

With that evidence, he really should have reached over to the dark furball curled up by his knee and told her about the dream. As a matter of fact, he should have mentioned the dreams from the moment he knew they were looking for a princess. It could have been important. It might mean the difference between finding her and losing her forever.

Still, Mamoru couldn't bring himself to do it.

There was something deeply personal about his dreams that made it impossible for him to even think about them out loud for fear that he would be heard. She was coming to him for a reason. He rather thought that she didn't want Luna or either of the girls to know about it, at least not yet. Besides, as insufferable as she could be, he got some amount of enjoyment from the dreams. He might wake up angry when she came to him, but it was better than waking up feeling longing when she didn't.

So he reached over to his screaming alarm once again and shut it off. Then he nestled into the covers, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep the day away. He might have had more important things to do - ranging from papers to finding long lost royalty - but they could wait.

Rest was more important. Especially since he didn't know what was coming next.

-----

Ami didn't sleep particularly well that night. The unrelenting voice of Hino Rei dogged her as she tried to rest, resulting in sweat-drenched sheets tangled up in her limbs. She knew that she must have dozed off on occasion, but sound sleep eluded her for the eight hours she always gave herself. The last two were spent looking out the window, watching the sun rise on a grey, cloudy morning.

That was why Ami couldn't say that the sound of the tea kettle whistling woke her up. It startled her and it got her out of bed, but she had been awake for quite some time. Still, she moved with the same disorientation that someone who had just been roused from slumber did, and she rubbed her eyes when she stepped into the brightly lit kitchen. She squinted out from under her fingers and was surprised to find that she wasn't alone.

"Mother?" Ami asked drowsily. "What are you doing here?"

Mizuno Emi wasn't the least bit perturbed by her daughter's appearance. In fact, judging by the smile, Ami was willing to bet that the older woman had put on the tea specifically to get Ami out of bed. Not wanting to begrudge her that victory, Ami did not complain about her nearly sleepless night. "Is that any way to greet your mother, young lady?" She strode forward and kissed Ami on her brow.

Ami smiled. "I suppose not," she admitted a little sheepishly. "It's just I don't usually see you in the morning."

Emi nodded in agreement, pouring the freshly brewed tea into the twin cups on the counter. "Well, by nothing short of a miracle, I don't have to go in for a few hours yet. I thought I ought to have breakfast with my daughter while I have the chance."

"That is a miracle," Ami said happily, pleased with the all too infrequent opportunity to spend time with her mother.

"I hope you don't mind that I got you up early," her mother said as she pushed Ami's cup towards her and then went back to preparing the remainder of breakfast. It was just cold cereal and milk because Ami's mother had no idea how to make anything except tea, rice, and cookies. Still, even if the preparation was simple, Ami always thought that these breakfasts were the best in the world.

"Not at all," Ami said, hiding her mouth behind the rim of her cup.

Emi smiled, her shoulders sagging in relief, as she pulled the milk out of the refrigerator. She began to pour it and said, "Well, we have a lot of catching up to do, don't we? You still haven't had a chance to tell me about those two who--"

Ami had begun to tense as her mother brought up Rei and Mamoru. She had seen them in the aftermath of the hospital, but the pair had not had much of a chance to discuss any of the niceties of that day, few and far between as they were. Ami knew that her mother was anxious to find out who these friends were - just as anxious as Ami was not to talk about them. Whenever the subject was broached, all Ami could think of was how Luna had told them that family members and friends were endangered by association. Ami had experienced that firsthand during Tetis's massacre, and she was in no hurry to repeat it. She wanted nothing more than for her mother to forget about the two people she had seen so that she never had to be told about them. It was better to keep her as apart as possible.

But all of that fretting was rather pointless in the end for Dr. Mizuno's beeper had gone off in the middle of her sentence. Emi managed to slosh a fair amount of milk at the sound. She wasn't surprised; in fact, she'd probably been expecting it. But it didn't change the fact that it was the last sound she wanted to hear right then.

"Drat," her mother muttered, glancing down at the screen. "Another emergency."

The word emergency made Ami's stomach twist itself into a painful knot. She choked a bit on her tea. "Emergency?"

Instantly knowing the source of her daughter's worry, Emi walked over and smoothed her hair. "Nothing like that, Ami. Just a consult that can't wait if the patient is going to survive."

Ami began to untie her intestines, but as always, it was a slow process. "Oh."

Her mother sighed sadly, her nails briefly scratching Ami's scalp. "I don't mean to sound callous, but sometimes..." she trailed off, deciding it was better not to say anything at all. She shook her head and said, "I am sorry about this, dear. I got you up for nothing."

"Not for nothing," Ami protested, straightening in her seat. "I'm happy to see you."

Emi stared for a minute and then leaned over to kiss Ami again. She hugged her briefly and said, "Whatever did I do to deserve such a sweet daughter?"

"Saved a few hundred lives," Ami joked somewhat grimly, bringing them back to the issue at hand.

Her mother took the hint and pulled away, collecting her things. "Quite," she said, her tone already hardening into that of the brisk, professional woman that she used at work without fail. As she finished getting ready to leave, she said, "Still, I think it's high time we had some quality time, wouldn't you say?"

Ami nodded in agreement. She and her mother hadn't sat down and had a meal for well over a month. Aside from notes, phone calls, and brief conversations that consisted essentially of greetings, they had barely spoken. It was convenient for fighting the forces of evil, but Ami would have preferred to endure the hardship of concealing her dangerous activities.

"Right. Well, I have Friday night off, and come hell or high water, it is going to stay that way. I suggest that we go out and have dinner and talk without pausing to breathe. Sound like a plan?" Emi was nearly out the door, obviously wanting to leave but waiting for Ami's answer.

Normally, Ami would have agreed to such an arrangement without hesitation. However, there were other things to consider now. Luna might want the three of them to meet for whatever reason. Or someone might attack. Or the princess could come knocking at her door expecting to find her there and, upon finding an empty apartment, would vanish for all eternity, certain that she was unwanted.

The final scenario was highly unlikely of course, but it didn't change the fact that Ami had other obligations. She bit her lip, trying to decide what to do. She began to wish that she had called Luna after speaking with Rei. She had thought about it, but decided against it at the time. Now she would have liked to undo that just to be certain if she would be otherwise preoccupied Friday night.

Although, even if Luna had nothing planned, the enemy certainly hadn't given them an hourly schedule for their convenience, had they?

"Ami?" Emi asked impatiently. "I have to go."

"Sorry," she apologized automatically. Ami shook her head. "I mean, yes. Yes, of course I'll go."

Emi smiled again, though this one was not quite as bright as her others had been. "Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow night then." That said, the famous doctor nodded smartly and left the apartment, pulling the door shut behind her.

Ami sighed as soon as her mother was gone and then set about to finishing breakfast by herself. She briefly wondered if she had made the wrong decision once again, but she quickly decided that this was one of those rare occasions where there was neither a right nor a wrong answer.

If the enemy was going to come, it was certainly not going to be dependant on her dinner arrangements after all.

-----

The end of the term is always a stressful time for students. They're scrambling to get in some last minute studying before their exams at nearly all times. Places that serve coffee - good, bad, or ugly - are bombarded at all hours, and woe betide the establishment that dares to run out of the caffeinated substance. Some students get shorter tempers. Others have nervous breakdowns. But, of course, there is the rare exception to the madness - a calm, collected individual who feels completely prepared for whatever his or her professors might put on the exam. They are the ones that the others will look on with envy and hatred, and they will wonder just how they managed to be so well-prepared.

That is what people thought they were seeing when they saw Chiba Mamoru walking to his last exam on Friday morning. In actuality, Mamoru had never felt less prepared for any test in his life. However, considering everything else that had happened, he couldn't bring himself to care.

"You know, I don't remember you so much as glancing in the general direction of a textbook in the past few weeks," Luna said suspiciously.

Mamoru shrugged. "I suppose you haven't been paying very good attention."

Luna bristled with indignation. "I have been paying excellent attention."

"How?" Mamoru asked, genuinely puzzled. "You sleep sixteen hours a day."

Luna glared darkly, but had no response to his retort. Granted, sixteen was an outside figure, but she had to concede the point. Mamoru smirked with triumph, happy that his magical pet was so easy to make fun of.

That pleasure quickly faded as he repeated that sentence in his head. He really hated how much his life resembled a cartoon show.

The conversation might have continued with Mamoru bemoaning this predicament aloud, when a familiar face bobbed up in front of him. "Good morning, Mamoru!" Rei chirped brightly, making him jump a bit. It wasn't just that she had come out of nowhere, but he wouldn't have expected her to be so bubbly. It didn't sit well with him.

"Good morning, Rei," he said hesitantly, looking around nervously to see if there were any signs that this was actually a youma come to eat his brains or something. He swallowed and glanced at Luna, who didn't seem concerned. Just perplexed. He looked back at Rei, forcing a smile, and said, "How are you doing?"

It was a loaded question, and the brief shadow that passed through her eyes illustrated that Rei was quite aware of that. He started to regret it when Rei seemed to shake it off, vanishing from her gaze like so much vapor. She smiled at him, filling him with relief, and said, "Oh, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Mamoru's smile relaxed. Hearing that made him genuinely happy. "I'm glad," he said sincerely. "I was worried about you after..." He glanced around and decided that there were too many people around to be candid. Besides, some students who knew him to be a life-long bachelor were curious about his holding a conversation with a very pretty girl - fourteen or not. "After what happened," he finished lamely.

Rei nodded knowingly, pushing a few locks of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, it was hard at first, but I'm moving on."

Mamoru returned her nod, moving his head a few more times than he thought was necessary in an attempt to fill the awkward silence. He also took the opportunity to glance down at his watch and, noting the time, become puzzled once more. "Say, shouldn't you be in class right now?"

Rei blinked at him for a moment. Her cheeks colored. "Well, I--"

"Come to think of it, your school isn't even near here," Mamoru continued on aimlessly, ignoring Luna's exasperated sigh. "Or the shrine for that matter. What are you doing here?"

Rei's whole face had now shifted from pale to rosy pink. Nevertheless, her next words didn't even come close to answering his question. "Listen, I was just thinking that it might be a good idea for us to, you know, get to know each other better. In a more social setting I mean. Not just..." she looked around. "Not just in the usual way."

Mamoru nodded, feeling slightly out of his depth. "Social setting?" he queried, arching an eyebrow. Luna made another noise, and he wasn't quite sure if she was mocking him or choking on hairball.

"Yeah," Rei said brightly. "I invited Ami to go, but it turns out she has something she needs to do. But I figured the two of us could still sit and talk somewhere.  
Don't you think that's a good idea?"

Well, when she put it like that, he wasn't sure he could actually refuse the idea. He shrugged and said, "Are you sure Ami can't go? What does she have to--"

"Oh, she probably wants to get started on next term's homework or something," Rei said flippantly, waving a hand at him. "But seriously, how about it?"

Mamoru pondered it for a moment, and while he found Rei's behavior odd, he couldn't pinpoint anything wrong with the suggestion. He smiled at her warmly and said, "Sure, it sounds like fun. I don't think I've done anything socially in over a decade, so might as well, right?"

Rei's face practically broke apart with the force of her smile. "Great!" she exclaimed a bit too loudly. "There's this new Italian place that just opened that I've been dying to try. And it isn't that expensive from what I hear. What do you say we meet there tomorrow at eight o'clock?"

Mamoru agreed, and after he got very precise directions from Rei, she went on her way. He happened to notice there was a bounce in her step and stared after her, wondering at her. He shook his head and looked over at Luna. "She bounces back fast, doesn't she?"

Luna said nothing but kept looking after Rei, her whiskers twitching.

-----

Usagi didn't know what had gotten into Haruna, but she knew she didn't like it.

Knowing that Haruna had just ended her relationship with her long-time boyfriend, named Chisaki Akihito according to the school's resident gossip, Umino Gurio, had caused the majority of students to tolerate Sakurada Haruna's mood swings. However, there were some things that simply could neither be explained nor tolerated. The woman's current behavior went far beyond that.

Usagi hadn't even arrived late that day, thanks to her brother deciding to wake her up with a bucket of water that morning. He claimed she smelled, but Usagi had a suspicion that their mother had prompted him to do it so she wasn't late for exams. However, that little personal triumph had gone completely unnoticed by Haruna. In fact, Usagi was quite sure that it would have been better to be late.

"What took you so long?" Haruna asked her incredulously, scowling. "You should have been here hours ago!"

Usagi blinked slowly. She knew that she wasn't the smartest person in the world, but even she wasn't that dim. "But, Haruna-sensei, it was dark a few hours ago. I--"

"As if that's any excuse!" Haruna chastised, though Usagi had to strain to understand her because of the speed at which she was talking. It was making her dizzy. "A dedicated student would have been waiting at the gate for the maintenance man to open up so that they could begin their test before the others!"

Usagi still couldn't grasp this logic. "But wouldn't the maintenance man have been asleep as well? So I wouldn't have been able to start my exam... right?"

Haruna looked extremely frustrated with Usagi's apparent stupidity. "Foolish girl! You could have given up after half an hour and climbed the fence yourself! I would have been waiting for you. I was here at four this morning."

Usagi found herself gaping. "Four AM?! But Haruna-sensei, you're supposed to still be asleep at that time!"

"It's morning, isn't it? Aren't people meant to be up in the morning?"

"Yes, well, there's morning, and then there's **morning**," Usagi tried to explain, although she knew that her logic wasn't all that convincing, especially for someone as fanatical as Haruna currently was. Usagi frowned. "Haruna-sensei, should I maybe go get the school nurse? You see a little--"

"Don't bother," Naru called wearily from the back of the room. Usagi turned to look at her friend, who was currently hunched over a packet of papers, scribbling on it furiously. "I already tried that."

"I am quite fine, and I'll not have you suggesting otherwise," Haruna snapped rapidly. Then she reached behind her and grabbed a similar packet that Naru and several other students had. She thrust it into Usagi's hands, and she had to scramble to keep from dropping it.

"That's your English exam," Haruna explained brusquely. "You have--"

"Exam?!" Usagi exclaimed, causing nearly everyone including several students milling about in the hallway to jump. "You can't issue the exam yet! The final bell hasn't rung yet! That's not fair to the others!"

Haruna was quite affronted. "I'll have you know that my system is completely fair! Every student will be given ten minutes to complete the exam. I am timing it as we speak."

Usagi was seriously beginning to doubt her teacher's sanity. She looked down at the test, a hopeless expression on her face. "But this is an essay test! And it's four pages long. Finishing it in that amount of time is impossible!"

"I did it," Haruna said proudly. "And while the other students might be able to do it, you'll have significantly harder time of it because you've already wasted sixty seconds."

Usagi gaped at the woman for less than a second before zooming into her seat. She pulled out a pencil as fast as she could make her hands work and hurriedly began to write. She knew that she didn't understand the questions very well, but that couldn't be helped. As long as she had something written down for every essay, perhaps Haruna would be merciful.

"Speaking of time," Haruna said, walking briskly over to Naru's desk. "Your ten minutes are up, Osaka-san. Please give me your exam. I'll give you exactly one minute to rest, and then you can begin on your history test."

Naru stilled. Even with the time constraint, Usagi was eager for a distraction from her exam, so she couldn't help but look over at her friend. She recognized the look on Naru's face instantly and began to inch her desk away from the scene. Naru hardly had a hair-trigger temper, but when she did get angry, it was best to get out of her way.

"I'm not finished," Naru said, her voice tight.

Several of the other students recognized her tone and looked up to watch the unfolding drama. Haruna frowned down at Naru and held out her hand. "Osaka-san, I told you when you arrived that you would have ten minutes. Those ten minutes are up, now give me your test. You're using up your rest period."

Naru's head snapped up, her eyes narrowed. "I thought you were joking or something. I never thought you seriously expected us to finish in ten minutes! It's impossible!"

"I did it," Haruna repeated.

Naru rolled her eyes openly, something Usagi knew she would never be brave enough to do. "You wrote the test!"

"Osaka-san, don't you understand what limited time I have?" Haruna asked in disbelief. "I have to proctor your exams, grade them, file my reports, clean my office, supervise detention, run my errands, clean my apartment, and do countless other things! I don't have time to give you as much time as you'd like on every exam."

Naru stood up from her desk, knocking her chair over. Usagi winced. "I don't care about what all you have to do! I have to be a good student and get good grades so that I can become a nurse! And I'm not going to have you screw it up just because you don't want to be here!"

"Watch your tone," Haruna snapped.

"I won't watch my tone!" Naru challenged. "I've always respected you, Haruna-sensei, even if you are a little high-strung. But this is ridiculous! This is--"

Naru was cut off when Haruna slapped her across the face, the sound echoing through the room and nearly sending Naru to the ground. Usagi didn't even realize that she had screamed until Haruna turned to glare at her.

"Quiet, Tsukino-san! You only have six minutes!" Haruna turned back to Naru, glaring with barely suppressed rage. "As for you, Osaka-san, if you will not respect me or live up to my standard, then I don't want you in my classroom. Please leave immediately."

Naru stood there for a minute, holding her cheek in amazement. Usagi could see that Haruna had left a mark that would likely turn into a light bruise within hours. She closed her eyes and swallowed, a sure sign that she was about to cry. Usagi was about to ask if she was all right when she turned and fled the room, leaving her things behind.

"Naru!" Usagi cried out before she could stop herself.

"QUIET!" Haruna barked. Usagi was too scared of the woman to do anything but obey, so she turned back to her test.

Usagi was trembling all over now. She had never seen a teacher lay a hand like that on a student. She had heard horror stories of teachers losing it before,  
but she never would have thought that anything like that would happen to Haruna. Certainly the woman had alarming mood swings, but overall, Usagi and everyone else had thought she was quite stable. She was intelligent and kind for all her bravado, and there was a rumor that she had once taken a fellow teacher to task for being unnecessarily cruel to a slower student. Yes, she yelled at Usagi and others for poor performance, but she had never directly called her stupid. That was why Usagi had always liked her.

But now she was not only lashing out at students verbally, but physically, as well. It was scary and in Usagi's opinion, out of character. And she could do nothing but sit there and take it.

"Haruna?" a voice called tentatively from the doorway.

Usagi and the other students looked up to see the Home Economics teacher, Akiyama Higure. She was a timid woman, but it was well-known that she was Haruna's best friend among the staff. Usagi suspected that Naru had gone to fetch her immediately, or perhaps she had just found her by chance. It wouldn't be surprising to find her wandering the halls even so close to the final bell. After all, she had little to do except for accept students' final projects and grade them on sight.

"Higure!" Haruna said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Higure clearly saw that something was off about Haruna. She frowned and made a move as if to step forward but decided against it. "I've heard that perhaps you're not feeling well today, Haruna."

Haruna waved her off so quickly that her hand was little more than flesh-colored blur. "Rumors and lies, Higure. I'm just fine."

Clearly, Higure did not believe her. She glanced around the room and said, "Giving the students a head start on the test? How generous of you."

Haruna blinked in surprise. "Head start? I don't know what you're talking about. They've all been given ten minutes to complete their test. As a matter of fact, your time is up, Komatsu-san."

The boy in question was about to either protest or burst into tears when Higure gasped loudly, covering her hand with her mouth. She stared at Haruna and whispered, "So what Osaka-san said was true? You really... struck her?"

Terrified that Haruna was going to deny it, Usagi leapt to her feet before she knew what she was doing. Now that there was another adult in the room, even if it was someone as meek as Akiyama Higure, Usagi felt more confident. "She did Akiyama-sensei! I saw it happen!"

Higure, who had never had much faith in Usagi's work ethic, did not doubt the girl's honesty. She shook her head at Haruna in disapproval. "Haruna, how could you? You have never, ever behaved like that before."

"She was being disrespectful!" Haruna insisted. "And she wasn't working fast enough!" The truly surprising thing about that statement was how much more importance Haruna seemed to place on the latter mistake.

Higure looked over her shoulder and called out to someone. Usagi was surprised to see Ami's homeroom teacher, Kawabata Daichi, loom behind Higure. She noticed that Naru was with him, and she had obviously been crying.

Haruna glared at the two distrustfully. "So, Osaka-san brought reinforcements, did she?"

Kawabata, a teacher known all over for his temper, was remarkably calm as he started to approach Haruna. "Look, I know that you're upset about Akihito. But that is no excuse--"

"This has nothing to do with Akihito!" Haruna insisted. "I have work to do! I can't waste time watching them take a test! I have to hurry!"

"There's no hurry, Haruna," Kawabata insisted coolly. "I think that you should calm down."

Haruna's face started to color. "I am perfectly calm."

Kawabata, who was also known for saying the wrong thing at the most inopportune time, chose that particular moment to quip, "Yeah, Haruna. You're as stable as a corpse."

Usagi didn't even think the particular jab made sense, but it was enough to push Haruna past her breaking point. She watched in horror as Haruna lunged at her colleague, shrieking along with every other member of the class. Kawabata managed to catch her wrists before she clawed at his face and spun her around, holding on to her. He yelled for Higure to go get help, which she did without question. Usagi got out of her seat and ran to Naru, enveloping the girl in her arms, weeping openly.

Seconds later, other staff members were pouring into the room, nearly knocking the two girls over. Collectively, they managed to remove Haruna from the room, screaming about how she didn't have time to be accosted all the way.

Usagi and Naru stared after the retreating teachers, clutching each other so tightly that their arms were starting to go numb. All of the other students had come out of their classrooms, their faces a myriad of horror, shock, and even amusement. Usagi heard someone running toward them and was surprised to see Ami.

"Osaka-san! Usagi!" she panted, wearing a stricken expression. "Are you all right?"

Naru seemed too surprised by her concern to speak, making it necessary for Usagi to speak. She sniffled, still quaking and said, "Ami, I don't know what happened. I know that she's upset about her boyfriend, but I have never, ever seen her act like this before. She hit Naru!"

Ami turned to the redhead, blood draining from her face. "That doesn't sound like Haruna-sensei at all!"

"It's not!" Usagi sobbed. "Ami, it's not like her! What's wrong with her?"

Ami looked past the two girls at where Haruna had gone. She had a strange expression on her face, one that Usagi could only classify as that of suspicion. She frowned and said, "I wish I knew."

Usagi wished she knew too.

-----

A few hours later, both Mamoru and Luna arrived back at his apartment. Mamoru's exam had not gone all that well in his opinion, but then what could he expect? Luna's assessment of his studying habits had been spot on. Of course, he could blame Jadeite for his poor results, but he sincerely doubted the professor would care even if he could be told.

But Mamoru wasn't as concerned with his test results at the moment. He was more focused on how Luna had been acting ever since he had gotten out of the exam. She had been even shorter with him than usual, sometimes glaring at him and sometimes laughing at him. He could see no reason for her to act this way, and had been waiting until they arrived home so that he could have it out with her. The moment his door was closed and bolted, he pressed her for information.

"All right, you obviously have something of great importance to impart to me," Mamoru said, his voice laden with sarcasm. "Why don't you just get it out now?"

Luna stared at him for a moment and then shook her head, chuckling wryly. "It's nothing too important, Mamoru. I'm really just amazed at you."

Mamoru shifted uncomfortably. He could tell that she hadn't meant that as a compliment. "What do you mean?"

"For someone as clever as you, you certainly are a complete buffoon when it comes to girls," she quipped, flicking her tail smartly.

Mamoru blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Luna looked at him with equal amounts of pity and condescension. "Oh, Mamoru. It really is a shame that no one's been able to teach you about the opposite sex."

For whatever reason, Mamoru felt that this conversation was too embarrassing for him to handle. He felt his ears start to burn. "Why don't you just get to the point," he snapped.

"Because this is fun," Luna said with a laugh. However, she took pity on him soon after and said, "Don't you know what Rei meant by 'getting to know you in a social setting?'"

Mamoru stared, failing to see the point of this. "She meant that she wanted to know more about me as a human being and not just a guy in a cape?" He hadn't meant for that to come out as a question; it made him seem that much more incompetent.

Luna clucked her tongue at him. He felt like he was twelve again. "No, what she meant was that she likes you."

Mamoru failed to grasp the full meaning of her statement. "So?"

"Mamoru, you great clod," Luna said crossly. "She was asking you out on a date."

Mamoru stared at her openly, his mouth falling open a bit. He could understand the make up of an atom with minimal difficulty, but this revelation was totally over his head. "She was not," he insisted.

Luna rolled her eyes at him. "Please. Girls don't ask young men to take them to Italian restaurants as friends."

Mamoru still refused to believe this. "Luna, you're being ridiculous. She said that she'd asked Ami--"

"And I'm sure that if we asked Ami about it, she'd have absolutely no idea what we're talking about," Luna maintained. "Think, Mamoru. The last time we saw Rei, she wanted to string Ami up by her thumbnails."

Mamoru had to admit, that part of Rei's story did seem a bit odd when she'd recounted it. "But she was concerned about the price. It's only a date if I pay, right?"

"Oh, you're going to," Luna said, still laughing at him. "The reason she brought it up is so that you didn't think you were going to go broke by paying for her dinner."

Mamoru stared at Luna. He was beginning to think that she might be right about this. "But... She's fourteen! I don't date fourteen-year-olds! Luna, I don't date anyone!"

Luna just looked at him. "Mamoru, look in a mirror. You are every fourteen-year-old's dream. And it doesn't help that you assume the role of "knight in shining armor" somewhat literally."

Presented with all of this evidence, Mamoru had no choice but to admit the truth. He was going on a date with Hino Rei. He hadn't been tricked into it, but it wasn't something that he wanted to do. And he couldn't back out of it now. Rei was his ally, and if he did something to offend her, it was going to lead to problems on the battlefield. He was backed into a corner and his escape was blocked by a temperamental, fire-wielding teenager who also happened to have a crush on him.

He was, in a word, doomed.

-----

Mamoru had done everything possible to make himself physically ill before his date with Rei. He took a cold shower and opened all of the windows of his apartment in order to dry off. He ate impossible amounts of sugar and grease, even going so far as to throw together disgusting food combinations in hopes of making himself vomit. All the chocolate covered pickle and pepperoni pizza had done was cause him to make a desperate, late night investment in mouthwash. None of his efforts had been the least bit successful, and so he had no choice but to arrive at the restaurant on time. He could only hope that the evening was quick and painless.

"Mamoru!" Rei called from across the street, waving frantically at him.

He returned the greeting with trepidation and felt his heart sink when he saw what she was wearing. He hadn't done much to improve on his regular appearance, but Rei was dressed as close to the nines as a shrine maiden could manage. She was clothed in a red dress that wasn't the least bit distasteful, but he could tell that she thought it was risqué. She also had a flower in her hair and a gold locket at her throat. As she grew closer, he saw that she had applied some mascara and lip gloss, perhaps in an attempt to look older.

Rei instantly looped her arm through his, and he had to suppress a groan. She didn't notice his discomfort and said, "Didn't I tell you this place was fantastic?"

Mamoru wanted to say that no, actually she hadn't told him anything about the quality of the restaurant, and he could hardly form an opinion since all he had seen was the door. But he was already feeling bad enough about his extreme aversion to this social ritual and how she was more than likely going to end up with her heart broken. So he just nodded wordlessly, trying to come up with a way to get her off him without being too obvious.

Rei led him inside, though Mamoru would later insist that it was more appropriate to say that she dragged him inside. He wouldn't be wrong. She went up to the host confidently and said, "We have a reservation for two under Chiba."

Mamoru felt horrible for thinking it, but he really wished that a youma could appear and spare him this travesty of an evening.

The host glanced at both of them in turn, first noting how very young Rei was and then noticing how very old Mamoru was. He glared at Mamoru as if he was escorting his own daughter down the aisle in handcuffs.

"Oh, kill me now," Mamoru muttered.

"What was that?" Rei asked, still smiling brightly enough to make his eyes hurt.

Mamoru forced himself to be cheerful for her sake. "Nothing," he insisted. "Just remembering that I forgot to change Luna's water this morning."

She took that at face value and turned her attention back to the host. He was having some trouble finding their name, so Rei took the list from him. She scanned it, found their reservation, and crossed it off herself, all while holding on to Mamoru's arm. She handed it back to the host confidentially. "We'd like a table somewhat out of the way if you don't mind."

Mamoru felt like he was going to be violently ill, and he didn't understand why that couldn't have started sooner.

They were led to a table that, much to Mamoru's relief, was right in the center of the restaurant. Rei looked like she was going to launch into a protest that likely would have commanded the other patrons' attention, but the host left before she could get out the first syllable. Mamoru didn't doubt that she would have gone after him if he hadn't desperately thrown himself into the type of senseless prattle that made him loathe the process of dating in the first place.

"So tell me about what life's like at the shrine," Mamoru asked even though he had absolutely no interest in the subject whatsoever. He was completely shocked when she actually told him in extreme detail just how life at the shrine was. He had no idea that anyone could construct such a lengthy monologue on the subject of sweeping stairs and selling charms.

The worst part was that she seemed to have an endless supply of what he was sure she thought were incredibly amusing anecdotes concerning Hikawa Jinja. And perhaps they were humorous at times, but he had tuned her out within the first few minutes of her speech, making a noise every now and again to keep up the illusion that he was interested.

"So what about you?" Rei asked when she had finally come to the end of her speech.

Mamoru blinked at her, unsure of how to respond. "Err... Funny story, I don't actually live at a shrine so--"

She laughed a bit too loudly, attracting the attention of a passing waitress. The waitress looked at each of them in turn and then shot Mamoru an apologetic look. Mamoru watched her go sadly, wondering if she could possibly save him from this ordeal. Of course if she did, she was probably going to expect a date in return, and no way in hell was he doing that again in this lifetime.

"I meant what about your life?" she clarified, heralding the beginning of the awkward interview standard with all first dates. He supposed he should be grateful that she hadn't led off by asking him what his favorite color was. "You're in college, right? What are you studying?"

He found something horribly offensive about the fact that she hadn't been sure whether or not he was attending a university. Still, he nodded and sipped his water as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "I'm Pre-Med."

She stared at him for a moment and laughed nervously. Apparently, she hadn't been expecting that. He saw a faint blush color her cheeks as she scrambled to recover. "Wow! That's impressive."

In spite of himself, her reaction intrigued him. "You seem surprised."

Her blush deepened. "Oh, no! Well, I am, but not because I didn't think you were capable. I just... Well, I know that that field requires a lot of studying, and you don't seem like you're pressed for time."

Mamoru laughed bitterly and took another sip of his water. "I should note that I don't think I did fairly well this term because of... you know."

Rei nodded sadly, looking down at her hands and likely berating herself for her mistake. Mamoru thought this would have been a good time to tell her that it was all right, but the waiter appeared at that precise moment to see if they wanted any appetizers. Mamoru was going to decline, but Rei beat him to the punch, ordering a sampler platter that was the most expensive thing in that section of the menu.

After that, Mamoru didn't think that he wanted to tell her that it was all right.

Once the waiter had left, Rei turned to him, smiling as if she hadn't done anything the least bit wrong all evening. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands and said, "So, aren't you going to ask me?"

He was sincerely afraid of what she meant by that, so he wasted no time in getting clarification. "Ask you what?"

"What my dreams and goals and such are."

Mamoru felt his entire face twitch. This was a dating horror story that would go in the record books. He was going to have to tell Motoki about it just as soon as he didn't want to commit suicide every time he thought about it. "Apparently you don't need me too."

She didn't take the hint and immediately launched into what he swore was a rehearsed diatribe beginning with a list of at least ten different careers, none of which had anything to do with one another or the Shinto religion. The rest of the evening continued on in a similar vein. She'd ask him a question, he would give a short answer, and then she'd babble on about the same subject for what felt like hours. It was hellish.

Mamoru was seriously considering sawing his hand off in the middle of the salad course when an unexpected distraction happened to come into the restaurant. He didn't see her coming until she had reached their table, obviously puzzled.

"Mamoru?" Ami asked, pulling all of the attention away from the intended star of the evening. "Rei?"

Mamoru stole a look at Rei and saw the panicked look on her face. This confirmed Luna's hypothesis that Ami had never been involved in Rei's plans for the evening. He had given her the benefit of the doubt, assuming that he had simply been oblivious as usual. But seeing how guilty Rei was at being caught in a lie, Mamoru knew that he had been manipulated into this outing. To say that he was annoyed was a grand understatement.

He turned back to Ami and said, "Ami! What a surprise. I didn't know that another dinner was the reason why you couldn't join us this evening." He saw Rei wince out of his peripheral vision.

Ami clearly had no idea what he was talking about. "Join you? I didn't--"

"Ami, what's going on?" another, older voice called out from a few feet away. The three of them turned to see Dr. Mizuno walk up to them. She seemed to catch on the moment she saw Mamoru, and she didn't look happy. "Oh," she said simply.

Sensing the disapproval and eager to dispel it, Mamoru quickly got up from his seat, bumping it a bit in the process. He hoped fervently that no crumbs were falling off his lap as he bowed deeply. "Dr. Mizuno. How nice to see you outside of a hospital. Please allow me to introduce my friend, Hino Rei." He didn't put any undue stress on the term friend for fear of embarrassing them all, but he did hope that Rei started to get the picture.

He could tell instantly that she hadn't. She and Dr. Mizuno bowed to each other in turn while Ami remained as still as a statue. Then the doctor turned back to Mamoru, not bothering to mask the frown she was wearing. "It's nice to see you so... healthy." She eyed Rei with an equal amount of distaste, and Mamoru felt very much like throwing himself out the window in hopes of ending it all.

Rei hadn't missed the look and immediately went on the defensive. "I can assure you, Dr. Mizuno, that he isn't quite that healthy."

Even though Mamoru was thoroughly exasperated with her, he had to give Rei credit for that comment.

Ami was blushing furiously in response to Rei's curt response, but she managed to compose herself enough to say, "So you two are here together?"

Mamoru instantly regretted any joy that he had gotten out of the evening. He held up his hands and said, "Actually, I wouldn't be the least bit offended if the two of you wanted to join us. I'm sure Rei would be thrilled." He looked back at her, hoping that she was willing to play along.

Rei folded her arms across her chest and glared.

"Of course," Mamoru murmured, crestfallen.

"We wouldn't want to impose," Dr. Mizuno said smoothly, laying her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Besides, it isn't often that I get to spend time alone with my daughter, and I plan on taking advantage of it. But thank you for your generous offer."

The group fell into an awkward silence. However, it didn't last very long. Just when Rei had been about to hurry the Mizunos along to their own lives, Ami excused herself, practically running from the table. Both Mamoru and her mother called out after her, but Rei didn't seem to be the least bit concerned with the predicament.

Dr. Mizuno turned back to Mamoru and gave him a hard stare. "I certainly hope you're pleased with yourself," she said coldly before going after her daughter.

Mamoru stared after her, his shoulders quickly sagging. "I'm not actually," he whispered, too softly for Rei to hear.

-----

Ami barely had time to make it into the bathroom before she started crying. She locked herself in one of the stalls and began to sob quietly while she sat on the toilet.

She knew that it was ridiculous to get so worked up over seeing Mamoru and Rei together, but she couldn't help herself. They had wanted to spend time together without her. Ami knew that Rei wanted nothing to do with her, but she had thought Mamoru at least liked her a little bit. Or failing that, he didn't actively dislike her.

But finding them at the restaurant disproved all of that. They hadn't invited her to come along. They'd both looked like she'd caught them doing something horrible when they saw she was there. They wanted nothing to do with her, and all because she'd tried to do the right thing.

Ami buried her face in her hands. This happened to her every time she was close to making friends. Either they'd accuse her of flaunting her money and her grades or they would try to get Ami to do something she didn't believe was right and then stop speaking to her when she refused. The situation was simply magnified now because Mamoru and Rei weren't just potential friends; they were her comrades. How was she supposed to fight alongside them knowing that they hated her?

She hadn't noticed when her mother entered the bathroom, but her crying was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door. "Ami?" she asked gently. "Are you all right?"

Ami immediately began wiping away her tears. She didn't like crying in front of her mother. It made her feel inadequate in the face of the woman's overwhelming competence. "I'm fine," Ami insisted, hoping that her mother didn't notice the way her voice was trembling. "I just started to feel sick that's all."

She knew that her mother didn't believe her. "Ami, don't lie to me. I'm your mother. I can always tell."

Ami didn't say anything to that. If her mother could always tell when she was lying, she would have bigger problems than Rei and Mamoru's feelings about her.

"Seeing them together really upset you, didn't it?"

Ami considered keeping up a pretense to avoid talking about the subject, but she quickly realized that was futile. Her mother knew she was unhappy, and there would be no getting around it for the rest of the evening if not beyond that. She nodded sadly and said, "It did."

Her mother sighed, and Ami knew exactly what face she was making based on the noise she made. "Oh, Ami... I told you that it was best if you stayed away from that boy."

Ami winced and curled her hands into fists. She took a deep breath and said, "He's not a bad person, Mama."

"He's made you cry, hasn't he?" she asked. "I don't think that makes him a good person either."

Ami was surprised to find that she was making excuses for Mamoru. "He didn't know what he was doing. He seems clueless to me sometimes."

Dr. Mizuno snorted. "Yes. He does at that."

Ami paused a moment, giving herself time to regroup. Once she felt like she could speak without the threat of crying again, she said, "Mamoru's really a very nice person. He's helped me out a few times when I don't think anyone else would have." She rubbed at her eyes again, smearing unshed tears onto her cheekbones. "I didn't think he would avoid me like this."

Her mother inhaled deeply. "Ami, when I met your father, I thought he was the greatest man to have ever walked the Earth. He was handsome, clever, and artistic. He was everything I wanted at the time, and that made me completely blind to his faults. I didn't open my eyes until well after we'd gotten married, and by then it was too late to end things without a lot of people getting hurt. Including you."

Ami felt herself begin to get choked up again. It wasn't often that her mother spoke of her relationship with Ami's father. It was an emotional subject for both of them. "Mama, what does this have to do with--"

"Don't make the same mistake I did, Ami," her mother interrupted softly. "Look at the whole person you're dealing with and not just the good things."

It didn't take very long for Ami to realize what her mother was alluding to. Ami stood up like someone had fired a gun and threw open the bathroom door, her mouth agape. "You think that I'm... in love with Mamoru?" Just saying it made her face turn as red as the dress Rei had been wearing.

Dr. Mizuno shook her head. "Ami, I'm just saying--"

"I'm not!" Ami insisted, trying desperately to return to her normal pallor and failing at it. "He's just a friend! And Rei's sort of my friend too, and... I didn't think they'd--"

Before Ami could continue, her mother had enveloped her in an embrace. Normally, Ami relished in any sort of outward display of affection from her mother, but she would have rather this hadn't happened. Still, she remained locked in her mother's arms, listening as she whispered, "Ami, just promise me that you'll be more careful than I was."

The combination of her mother's body heat and her fierce blush were making Ami uncomfortably warm. "Mother, please--"

"Just promise."

Ami was not the sort of person who enjoyed it when people had the wrong impressions about something. Part of her desperately wanted to be able to make sure that her mother understood that she didn't have those sorts of feelings for Mamoru. But the situation was just so complicated and there were so many things Ami couldn't fully explain without lying to her mother outright. Not to mention the fact that just thinking about being in love with Mamoru was one of the most mortifying experiences of her life, and Ami felt that she had had more than her share of those.

So, rather than continue on with the uncomfortable situation, Ami let out a defeated sigh that she was quite sure her mother was misinterpreting entirely. "Yes, mother."

Dr. Mizuno pulled away, a satisfied smile on her painted lips. "I'm glad."

Ami wished that she could have returned the sentiment.

-----

The evening was not going as Rei had planned.

To begin with, she certainly had not expected to be caught by Ami. It had been an unfortunate coincidence that Rei could blame on her bad karma. She had tossed in the lie about Ami being busy on a whim in hopes that it would make Mamoru be more inclined to go out on a date with her if he didn't realize that he was going on a date with her. It was an underhanded strategy, but an effective one.

Unfortunately, now Mamoru knew that the whole thing had been a ruse, and he was definitely not happy about it. He still hadn't said anything to her, but the look on his face left little to the imagination.

Eventually, Rei sighed. "Look, if you want to get angry, then get angry, but don't just sit there glaring at me."

Mamoru needed little encouragement. "Fine. Rei, this has got to be the sneakiest, most manipulative thing that I have ever been subjected to, but let us just get one thing straight before I launch into just how disgusted I am about that.

"I don't date. Period. End of story."

He stopped abruptly, giving Rei time to absorb that caveat. She stared at him in a fair amount of disbelief. She knew that there were some students serious enough about their school work that they swore off dating no matter what the circumstance. However, she had never thought to apply that stereotype to Mamoru. Ami was that sort of person, but not Mamoru.

"But why not?" she asked before she could stop herself. Once it had been said, there was no taking it back, but Rei hated that she had made herself sound so childish in front of him.

The question exasperated him just as she had feared it would. "Rei, it's a personal choice, and I don't need to explain it to you."

Rei scowled. "I hate it when people answer questions like that."

"And I hate it when I get tricked into doing something that I don't otherwise do," Mamoru countered.

Rei opened her mouth to fire something back, but every possible retort stalled in her throat. She could have responded, but there was no way to refute his logic without sounding like a petulant child.

Mamoru took that opportunity to continue on his tangent, and Rei took that opportunity to completely ignore him. He'd made his point; now he was just rubbing it in to appear self-righteous and vent his own frustrations. She saw no reason to remain engaged during a lecture, so she began to look around the restaurant.

Much to her chagrin, the place was full of couples who were having a much better time than she was. The restaurant was a new hotspot for romantic outings, so it was no surprise to see so much budding happiness in the room, but it still left a sour taste in her mouth. Rei saw an older couple who were probably there for their anniversary, a pair of newlyweds still thoroughly entrenched in the honeymoon period, and a couple somewhere between her and Mamoru's age so desperately in love with one another that they nauseated Rei from across the room.

She glanced back at Mamoru and wondered why she couldn't have been so lucky.

Just then, Rei heard the sound of tires squealing against the pavement outside. It was a sound that attracted the attention of every patron and employee of the restaurant. However, it was different for Rei. She suddenly got a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and the back of her arms began to perspire. She swallowed on a throat that was bone dry as she realized what had to be happening.

Something evil was near.

"Rei, what are you doing?"

She was pulled out of her short trance by the sound of Mamoru's voice. He was no longer infuriated with her, but concerned. She blinked and realized that she had gripped his hand.

"Mamoru," she whispered in as quiet a voice as possible. "There's something you don't know about me."

"What's going on?" he whispered back.

"I can sense things," she hissed. "I know when bad things are going to happen and I can tell a good man from an evil one by looking at them. And I can tell you that something very, very bad is about to happen in connection with that sound we just heard. I don't know what, but…"

Mamoru paled at her words, and she was pleased that in spite of how much she had deceived him in the past twenty-four hours, he believed her then. "But what?"

"We need the Senshi. Now."

-----

After being unceremoniously turned out of the school for a forced sabbatical the day before, Haruna had not gone home. She had been driving around ever since the incident, speeding past her apartment and every other place she could have and should have stopped for more than twenty-four hours. She wasn't feeling the least bit tired, and perhaps that's why she didn't wonder about why she hadn't needed to stop for gas at any point.

She still couldn't believe the nerve of them. Didn't they understand how busy she was? She didn't even have time to get out of her car and run her errands. She had been driving frantically from place to place for hours now, but she never seemed to have enough time to spend at any one location. There was too much of a pressing need to stay in her car to get to the next place in the dim hope that she would be able to make it there in time. She never did, so she just kept driving.

She'd been honked at numerous times, even sworn at. They thought she was reckless, but no one else understood. Haruna had to speed. The imposed speed limits wouldn't get her anywhere fast enough. She didn't understand how other people did it.

Right now, Haruna was rushing to have dinner. She had heard about a new Italian place that had opened up in Juuban recently. She was starving, but hadn't had time to eat. If she could just make it to the restaurant in the next twenty seconds, she could maybe squeeze in a minute to take a plate. After all, she was beginning to get dizzy in spite of how energetic she was. Everyone needed their nourishment.

She turned right at the street, ignoring the stoplight. It turned out to be her undoing as she noticed two students that attended Juuban Junior High School,  
slowly making their way across the street. They looked excited, probably relieved to be done with their exams and taking their sweet time now that they had the leisure, making it impossible for people like her to get anywhere on time.

She honked her horn and shouted, "Out of my way, brats!"

The girls looked up in surprise and shrieked. One of them was smart enough to dive out of the way, but the other just stood there, gaping in disbelief as Haruna's car sped towards her without any signs of stopping. She didn't stop screaming.

"Damn it," Haruna cursed, slamming on brakes. The tires squealed against the pavement, attracting the attention of several passers-by.

The girl was still standing there like an idiot. Finally, some quick thinking boy from the high school ran into the street and pushed the girl out of the way. They landed on the pavement, several feet out of the way of her car as Haruna went hurtling passed them. Haruna would have kept right on going, but there were still more people in the way in front of her. While she didn't have time to stop, she also didn't have time to go to jail for vehicular manslaughter. She chose the lesser of two evils.

"So much for getting dinner," Haruna muttered angrily.

-----

Ami's mother had left the table a few minutes before, so she was not around to hear the tires squeal from just outside the restaurant. She also missed Rei come running towards her, looking a bit shaken. Ami had no idea what Rei wanted to speak to her about, but she knew from her face that it was serious.

"There you are," Rei said breathlessly. "I've been looking all over the place for you."

"I'm sorry," Ami answered softly without thinking. She winced and said, "I mean--"

"Look, I don't have time for this," Rei snapped. "Something's up. I found..." she trailed off and looked around, making sure that everyone else had returned to their conversation after her entrance. Not quite satisfied with that, Rei pitched her voice low. "I sensed something just now. Mamoru went outside to check it out, but you're going to have to come with me now."

Ami looked up, her face pale. She looked back towards the bathroom and said, "But my mother--"

"She'll forget it," Rei insisted, becoming annoyed.

Ami was still hesitant to go with Rei. She didn't question Rei's judgment or the fact that it was important, but she wanted to at least give her mother some explanation. She just wanted to wait long enough for her mother to return from the bathroom, and then she would go with Rei without question. She was about to explain all of this when Rei started speaking again.

"Oh, for God's sake. Is this about what's going on with us?" Rei accused. "I have to say, Ami, I didn't think you were that petty."

Ami narrowed her eyes and got to her feet. "It's not that at all, Rei! I just--"

"Then it's because I went out with Mamoru behind your back?" Rei asked. "All right. I admit it. I like him. Last time I checked, that isn't a crime. Yes, I sort of tricked him into it by saying that I invited you, but it's not like I'm part of an evil organization hell-bent on destroying the world. So, if you'd like to come off your high horse and be of some help, do it quickly."

Ami was shaking by the time Rei was done with her diatribe. It explained so much about the evening. Mamoru hadn't been avoiding her; Rei had been. She should have known to expect it from the girl. She had already seen just how far Rei would go to get what she wanted, and the world of dating was certainly no exception.

Ami knew that she could have said a variety of things. She had the courage to fire an argument back at Rei point for point. She'd done it before when it mattered, and Ami was sure that she could draw upon her anger over what Rei had done easily enough. Still, she knew that she could get her point across with just a few short words, and that was the path she choose.

"I just want to let my mother know I'm leaving," Ami said coolly as Dr. Mizuno approached the table.

At least Rei had the good sense to be embarrassed. She blushed and looked away, unsure of how to answer that.

Thankfully, she didn't have to. Dr. Mizuno had increased her pace when she saw Ami locked in an intense conversation with Rei and was speaking before she reached the table. "Ami--"

Ami forced herself to be as gracious as possible. "I'm really sorry, Mama, but I'm going to have to leave a bit early."

Dr. Mizuno stared at her daughter in disbelief. Ami wondered if her mother had ever considered the possibility that one day she might need to leave early. When she saw the look on her mother's face, Ami realized with sickening clarity just how awful Dr. Mizuno felt every time she was called away. She hated it.

"But why?" Dr. Mizuno asked, turning her gaze on Rei. She might not have known what was going on, but she knew who to blame for it. "Ami, I want to know what's going on."

Ami found herself scrambling for a probable lie. "Well, Mamoru and Rei feel terrible about upsetting me earlier. It turns out there was some sort of miscommunication between Rei and I."

Rei knew a cue when she heard one. She looked up and said, "Yes, I thought that I invited Ami to come with us, but it turns out that I dialed the wrong number and left the message on the wrong machine. So we'd like very much to make it up to her, if that's all right with you, Dr. Mizuno."

Ami turned back to her mother, her eyes pleading. When she saw the apprehension in her gaze, Ami knew exactly how to appeal to her. "I promise I'll be careful, Mama."

The hardness in Dr. Mizuno's face faded. She looked at each of the girls and saw what she must have thought was earnestness. She deflated a second later, waving Ami away. "All right. But don't stay out too late, and don't be afraid to call me if you need to come home." The line of her lips thinned and her tone altered slightly to make sure Ami understood how serious she was. "I mean it, Ami. I'll always come get you no matter what. Understand?"

Ami smiled gratefully and threw her arms around her mother's neck. She kissed the woman's cheek, thanking her profusely. Before Dr. Mizuno could say or do anything more, Ami had pulled away. She and Rei turned and practically ran out of the restaurant, leaving Ami's mother to the check and her solitude.

Once they were outside, Ami and Rei spotted Mamoru immediately. He was standing on the edge of a sidewalk, watching a dramatic scene unfold in the street. From what Ami could tell, someone had nearly been run over by a car, which accounted for the noise they had all heard a few moments before. The girls moved forward to get a closer look.

"I'm telling you, I don't have time for this nonsense!"

Ami paled. "I know that voice," she whispered, moving faster.

"What?" Rei asked, hurrying to catch up. "Who is it?"

When they reached Mamoru, Ami's worst suspicions were confirmed. Standing just next to her vehicle, her hand still poised on the door to reenter it was soon as she was given leave, stood Sakurada Haruna, Usagi's homeroom teacher. Ami had witnessed the end of the scene the day before and had been surprised by the raving look the teacher had possessed. That was nothing compared to how she looked now.

"She's a teacher at my school," Ami said quietly. She turned to Rei, wondering if this could explain her odd behavior the day before. "You think she's evil?"

Rei was about to snap at Ami for doubting her, but she thought better of it. She turned back to the situation at hand, studying it intently. She frowned and said, "It's strange. I feel an evil presence and it seems to be emanating from her, but I don't feel as if she's evil."

"Could she be possessed?" Mamoru asked softly, glancing around to be certain that no one was eavesdropping. Luckily, everyone was far too absorbed in the argument to worry about whatever they were saying.

Rei pursed her lips. "It's not… It's similar to that, but--" Suddenly, her eyes went wide, and her knees started to buckle. Both Mamoru and Ami had to reach out to steady her before she hit the ground.

"Rei!" Mamoru shouted, clearly fearful for her.

"What is it?" Ami asked, guessing the cause of Rei's condition. "What do you sense?"

Rei took a moment to catch her breath, gripping both of their arms tightly. She stared past them and the drama unfolding in the middle of the road. She was trembling. "That man. He's evil. I know he's evil."

Both Ami and Mamoru followed her gaze to a man standing across the street. He had auburn hair and was dressed in fine clothing, but other than that, they could sense nothing else about him. Still, they didn't doubt Rei's judgment. If she felt that strongly about it, it couldn't be wrong.

"Was he there before?" Ami asked Mamoru.

Mamoru shook his head. "I don't think so."

"It was like... he just appeared out of nowhere. It took me off guard," Rei explained, still staring at him. "And there's something else."

"What is it?" Mamoru asked.

"He feels just like Jadeite."

They needed no further prompting. Ami and Mamoru helped Rei to her feet and led her to the nearest secluded area. There was no time to waste.

-----

He had twenty seconds to go.

"You could have killed us!" the girl who had been smart enough to jump away and leave her friend behind shouted. "What are you? Nuts?"

Nephrite smiled and muttered, "Something like that."

Haruna scoffed. "As if I have time to be looking out for brats like you! I'm a very busy woman!"

Fifteen seconds.

The girl scowled. "Doing what? It's not like someone as crazy as you could have a boyfriend!"

This insult struck a nerve with Haruna. Nephrite felt her energy spike, getting closer to its peak. "I don't have time to have a boyfriend!" she insisted, ignoring how everyone else guffawed at her statement.

Ten seconds.

"So, you're not just schizoid? You're delusional too?"

Eight seconds.

"I'm too busy to get into a shouting match with a child!"

"Make time."

Nephrite only had to wait five more seconds. Then the youma would activate inside her vehicle in time with her energy's zenith. After that, it was a matter of watching and waiting for the life force to be delivered.

"I can't," Haruna answered, unaware of the significance of her words.

"Hey, you!!" a voice shouted from several feet away, approaching fast.

Nephrite turned, shocked to find a vaguely familiar red-clad girl racing towards him. She was accompanied by two hours, and he didn't have to wonder about who they could be. He ignored them, glancing back to make sure Haruna had not moved. He was relieved to find that she hadn't. He started to chuckle to himself, knowing that they were too late.

"THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH TIME!" Haruna screeched, her fingers digging into the car door.

Finally, time was up, and Haruna's energy was at its peak. Light exploded all down the street as the night air was broken apart with the sound of Haruna's shriek. Most people didn't wait to see what happened next. This and the appearance of Tokyo's warriors were more than enough. It was no longer safe to be there.

A shadow appeared to replace the vehicle, and two limbs that were meant to be arms wrapped around Haruna's waist. Her energy was drained rapidly while the three warriors looked on, gaping as the once young teacher turned into an old woman in their presence.

The shadow dropped Haruna to the ground and began to warp. Her energy was the catalyst to turn it into a monster that would do Nephrite's bidding. It became something that had clearly once been a car but now resembled something like a living tank. It's skin was similar to the car's paint job: dark blue except for the left arm, which was yellow. Its eyes were pure white. A tire was strapped to its back. And of course, it had fangs, which was standard in any self-respecting creature of the night.

"Mission accomplished," Nephrite said to no one in particular. He turned towards the people who would become his enemies. "You've arrived too late, soldiers. Her energy is mine."

Mercury seemed to be too busy staring at his victim in horror to respond to his bragging.

"Heal her this instant!" Mars demanded over the sound of panicked people fleeing the area.

"We won't forgive you for attacking an innocent woman," Tuxedo Kamen echoed, moving into a battle stance.

Nephrite sniffed, thoroughly unconcerned. "I don't have time for this." He held out his hand casually, straining only at the last moment. A ball of light resembling a shooting star came flying out of his hand. Before any of the other soldiers had time to react, the attack slammed into Mars's stomach. Both Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen dashed forward to keep her from falling, but the force of his attack was strong enough to send all three of them flying backwards. They stopped only when they came into contact with a car parked on the street, and Mercury still went flying over the hood.

"Listen well, Sailor Senshi. Tuxedo Kamen," Nephrite intoned greatly. "I am no one to be trifled with. I am Dark King Nephrite, and I will not make the same mistakes my predecessor made." He narrowed his eyes, surprising himself with his vigor. "You will pay for his death and for the embarrassment you've caused the Dark Kingdom. Make no mistake about that."

Deciding that he had said enough for the evening, Nephrite vanished and returned to the Dark Kingdom, where he would wait for the energy to arrive.

-----

Sailor Mars was suffering from the blow that Nephrite had dealt her, and she doubted that Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen were much better off. She struggled to step away from Tuxedo Kamen to give him room to recover. She looked over her shoulder and called, "Mercury! Are you all right?"

Sailor Mercury's head appeared over the hood of the car. She looked to be moving with some difficulty. She nodded to Mars, swallowing and looking back at their current predicament. "I need you two to get the youma away from Haruna-sensei." That said, Mercury saw no reason to remain and ducked down to fulfill her end of the plan.

Mars wasn't pleased to be ordered around by Mercury of all people. Last time she checked, Mercury had not been designated the leader, and Mars would have protested any such appointment with as much passion as she possessed. She would have made an issue of it, but at the moment, getting rid of this monster was a lot more important. She looked over at Tuxedo Kamen and hissed, "You start. If I attack, I'll probably wind up roasting her in the process."

Tuxedo Kamen didn't deny this possibility. She was slightly annoyed with him for that.

As it turned out, the youma wasn't going to need much prompting to move away from Haruna. Its eyes flickered, reminding Mars of a car's headlights. It glowered and spat, "What's the matter with you? You're supposed to be the soldiers meant to stop us. What are you standing around for?!"

Tuxedo Kamen stepped forward, even going so far as to swagger. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but she doubted that the monster could tell. He smirked, tilting his head at an angle that Mars thought he must have practiced. "Sorry about that. We really are going to attack you, but - and this might just be me - I'm finding it pretty hard to keep a straight face looking at that paint job. I mean, you have to admit, it is pretty bad."

This was just what they needed to say to get the youma away from its victim. Unfortunately, they had not counted on the fact that the monster could move a great deal faster than they could. It tried to growl at them, but it sounded far more like an engine attempting to turn over. Mars noticed that the monster was straining, and happened to look down to see wheels spring out of the bottoms of its feet. She swore and pushed Tuxedo Kamen out of the way, taking him down to the ground just as the monster would have run them both over.

She hopped to her feet and pulled him up with her, barely catching his hurried whisper in the process. "Thank you."

"Now we're even," she responded quickly. She heard an engine rev again and spun around just in time to see the youma speeding towards them once more. "Move!" she shouted, leaping upwards in order to avoid being run over. She saw Tuxedo Kamen spin to his right in order to save himself while Mars continued soaring overhead, flipping in the air and landing on her feet.

She ducked behind a car to give herself a moment to regroup. She sighed and muttered, "Mercury better have moved her already."

-----

As it turned out, Sailor Mercury was having a much more difficult time of moving Haruna than she would have thought. It wasn't that the woman was too heavy for her to move; the energy drain had also resulted in the woman becoming a bit lighter than she would have been otherwise. The problem was that Mercury had no idea where she was supposed to put her in order to keep her from getting hurt. She hadn't anticipated on the monster being able to move so quickly. She had no idea how she was going to get Haruna to a safe area without being noticed.

Mercury stopped behind a car to take a look at the state of the battle. Mars and Tuxedo Kamen had just been charged again, but they'd both managed to get out of the way before they were road kill. Tuxedo Kamen spun out of the way, producing a red rose as he turned. He flung his arm out with a cry, throwing the steel-tipped flower with as much accuracy as ever. The weapon made contact, embedding itself into the youma's left arm.

It stopped suddenly, just before it would have been a few feet away from Mercury. She saw Tuxedo Kamen make eye contact with her briefly, and she knew that it had been intentional on his part. Guilt rose up within her as she realized that he was practically martyring himself again.

She wanted to scream at him until she was hoarse. She felt like hating him when he did things like that, and the most painful part of it was that she couldn't. She clenched her fist and struggled not to scream at him. Didn't he know how stupid he was? Didn't he realize that if she and Mars lost him, they'd be devastated? What exactly was she supposed to do if he got killed?

Mercury felt ill, and she chose not to think about it. She hooked her arms underneath Haruna's shoulders again and proceeded to drag her away, satisfied that the youma's attention was elsewhere for the time being. It was too bad that she couldn't be satisfied with anything else.

She heard the monster rush again, but she didn't dare turn around. She simply moved faster, hoping to get rid of the teacher's body in time to be of more use to her allies.

Unfortunately, she couldn't have moved fast enough to prevent what happened next. She heard the all too familiar sound of Tuxedo Kamen taking a hit and nearly dropped Haruna to the ground in order to see what was happening. She turned in time to see Tuxedo Kamen go flying away from the youma's outstretched arm; it had landed an incredibly powerful punch. Tuxedo Kamen went careening into a light post. His back arched painfully, and he cried out.

"Tuxedo Kamen!" Mars shouted over the squealing. She looked over at the youma in rage, pulling out her ofunda. She sprang forward, shouting, "Aku Ryo... TAI SEN!"

The slip of paper went flying towards the youma at what Mercury thought was an impossible speed, but the monster was still faster. It zoomed out of the way,  
allowing the ofunda to flutter uselessly to the ground. Mars ground her teeth and shouted, "Mercury! A little help here!"

Mercury knew she couldn't waste anymore time. She moved Haruna into an open shop where some of the witnesses were hiding. She exited just as quickly as she entered and began to make her way back to the battle when she noticed that someone had accidentally left their trunk slightly ajar.

Normally, Mercury would have bemoaned the silliness of people for not thoroughly checking their vehicles before they parked on the street and closed the trunk for them. However, this time, she thought she might be able to make used of something in the trunk. She jogged over and flung it open, hoping for something that could be used as a weapon.

She was lucky enough to find a tire iron.

"This should work," she muttered, slamming the trunk closed behind her. She leapt up onto the top of the car and looked around for the monster. It was hardly a chore to locate it - it was currently trying to run over her two allies, both of whom were dodging it admirably. Neither of them seemed to be happy about the situation.

Mercury knew that she wasn't strong enough to do any harm to the monster by whacking it over the head with her weapon; Tuxedo Kamen might have been, but he was clearly still suffering from the effects of the last blow he had taken. She stayed on top of the car for a moment, when she got an idea. She smiled and shouted over to the youma. "Hey!"

The youma came to a screeching halt, seething at her like a race car desperate to cross the starting line.

"Don't you get tired of playing bob and weave with those two?" Mercury taunted, hoping that nobody noticed the way her knees were knocking together. "There's another Sailor Senshi around, you know."

Mars was looking at her like she'd just lost her mind. She started to move forward to attack the monster again, but paid her no mind. It chuckled deeply and then rushed towards Mercury.

The blue soldier forced herself to hold her ground as she was charged. Her adrenaline was rushing through her body, telling her that it was time to flee, but she knew better. It was time to fight, but not quite in the way her ancestors had done. She waited, tightening her grip on the tire iron as the youma came closer.

"Mercury!" Mars shouted angrily. "Get out of the way!"

"Stop it! You'll be killed!" Tuxedo Kamen echoed.

Mercury shook her head. "Not today I won't," she muttered.

The monster was now within arm's reach. Mercury ground her teeth together and swung the tire iron like a bat, aiming right for the youma's eyes.

-----

The force of the impact sent Mercury flying off the top of the car. Tuxedo Kamen rushed over to Mercury, who was holding her right arm and winced. He crouched beside her and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her a bit. "What's the matter with you?" he demanded. "Are you insane?"

She gave him a look that he knew was meant to say that he really shouldn't lecture her on self-sacrifice all things considered.

"Crazy or not, I think she just did us a favor," Mars remarked as she moved beside them, gesturing up to the youma. "Look."

Tuxedo Kamen followed her gaze and had to suppress a hardy laugh when he saw the monster's predicament. It was clawing at its own face and looking around frantically for its enemies. Sadly for the monster, it couldn't see them or anything else, and it wasn't going to for the rest of its short life.

Mercury had just knocked the youma's headlights out; it was completely blind.

He glanced down at her with a wide smile. "I should know better than to doubt you."

The compliment was unexpected and made Sailor Mercury blush furiously. Mars had absolutely no patience for that sort of thing and made that perfectly clear by reaching down and hauling Mercury to her feet. The red Senshi looked over at Tuxedo Kamen with some amount of irritation. As usual, he had no idea what he had done to deserve it.

"Are we going to finish this thing or what?" she asked brusquely.

Tuxedo Kamen looked back at the flailing monster, who was currently demanding that they all speak up so that she could tell where they were. Apparently the echo and the noise of the ongoing car alarm was disguising their precise location. It spun around, prominently displaying the spare tire strapped to its back.

He grinned and motioned for Mercury to follow him. "Just give us a few seconds,  
Pyro."

Mars clearly would have been more than happy to rip him a new one for that comment, but Tuxedo Kamen didn't give her time. He grabbed Mercury's wrist long enough to make sure she was running, and then they both ran towards the monster. He started to pry the tire off its back, giving Mercury some idea of what they were doing. With her help they managed to get it off quickly.

The youma began flailing around wildly, sensing that something bad was about to happen. Tuxedo Kamen and Mercury dodged wildly, trying to avoid being hit by the blinded demon. Finally, Mercury crouched down and launched a kick to the back of its knees. The youma crumpled.

This gave Tuxedo Kamen opportunity to do as he had planned. He hefted the tire over his head and pushed it down onto the youma. He once again needed Mercury's assistance, but it wasn't long before they had the monster's arms sufficiently pinned and incapacitated.

"You bastards!" the sightless youma screeched. "You'll pay for this!"

"Maybe," Tuxedo Kamen agreed.

He and Mercury pushed the monster in Mars's direction, and it became very hard to remain menacing when it turned on its side and started rolling. Mars looked up at them with equal parts amusement and annoyance. "I fail to see why the tire is important."

Mercury shrugged. "It makes it flammable?"

"Oh, just light it on fire already," Tuxedo Kamen instructed.

The youma seemed to go pale. "Fire? Light what on fire?"

They all decided that it was more merciful not to answer.

-----

Sakurada Haruna awoke some time later with a very large bruise on her back and no idea how it had gotten there. However, she had not woken up alone, and her company managed to fill her in on what seemed to have occurred.

A policeman explained to her that she appeared to be the latest victim of one of the now famed "mysterious incidents." She must have been attacked by something and had her energy drained, for she'd had a similar pallor to the previous victims when she'd been found. Still, she should count herself lucky because she was much better off than some others had been. Witnesses had not been remiss in calling the proper authorities. They had arrived too late, but they had been in time to see the three strange warriors fleeing the scene.

She sighed sadly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as a policeman finished explaining that if she was willing to wait around awhile, he could arrange for someone to take her home. When he had first said that to her, Haruna had begun to insist that she would drive herself home. Sadly, he had been forced to inform her that her car had been a rather unfortunate casualty of the evening. They could not figure out what exactly had happened to it; his best explanation was spontaneous combustion.

In spite of being told how lucky she was, Haruna felt miserable. Not only had she lost her car, but she'd lost all of her memories of the past few days. Judging by the looks several of the witnesses were giving her, nothing good had happened. She did not want to think about what had happened at the school or anyone else she had encountered as of late. She was ashamed and she didn't even know what it was she had done. She wanted nothing more than to go home and have a good long cry in the shower.

She also realized that she had never missed Akihito more than at that moment. She sniffed and rubbed at her nose with the back of her hand. She would have hated to cry in front of so many people, but she was beginning to think that she was going to have little choice in the matter.

"Please, I have to see her!"

Haruna looked up at the sound of the familiar voice, her heart skipping a beat. "It can't be," she whispered, slowly getting to her feet. "It can't be."

"Haruna!" someone shouted from behind the police barricade. She spun around to see the most welcome face in the world bobbing up above the crowd and the two policeman telling him that he couldn't cross the line. "Haruna, it's me!"

Pride be damned, Haruna started crying instantly. She threw off the blanket someone had wrapped around her shoulders and ran forward. "Akihito!" she cried.

Akihito finally managed to get past the barricade, at least partially because the men stopped being concerned once they saw that he did in fact know the victim. He met her halfway, throwing his arms around her and practically crushing her with relief. "You're all right," he whispered happily. "Oh, thank God. You're all right."

"You're here!" she sobbed, hoping she didn't sound too hysterical. "What are you doing here?" She blushed, realizing her faux pas and quickly corrected herself. "I just mean--"

"Someone called and said you needed me," he explained into her hair. "They gave me this address, and I came because... Well, then I saw all of the police and the ambulance. I was so scared that you'd been hurt."

Haruna screwed her eyes shut, her shoulders shaking as her body was wracked with sobs. She pulled away and shook her head, whispering, "I'm so sorry, Akihito. I was an idiot. I should never have started the fight and I never should have let this go on for as long as it did and I never should have--"

Haruna could have gone on for a lot longer than that, but Akihito would have none of it. And he probably could have said something profound to make her be silent, but he was a man of action. So it was a surprise to neither of them when he stopped her words with a kiss he'd been dying to give her since the night she'd thrown him out of her apartment. And just like that, everything was fixed.

It was a perfect ending to one rotten evening.

-----

Once assured that Akihito had arrived at the scene of the attack, Ami finally said that it was all right for them to leave. They had watched over Haruna until help had arrived for her, and normally they would have left right after that. However, in addition to calling the authorities, Ami had also placed a call to Haruna's old boyfriend, deciding that she needed him more than anyone else right about then.

"How did you know his phone number?" Mamoru asked as the three of them hobbled away from the scene of the crime, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

Ami shrugged, her eyes focused on the pavement. "Haruna-sensei's love life is the best gossip at school. I don't think there's anyone left who doesn't know his name. I just took a gamble that he'd be in the phone book."

Mamoru chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Right. I should have known. I sometimes remember what middle school was like."

Rei glanced at the two of them out of the corner of her eye, her hands clasped behind her back. She turned her nose up a bit, making it clear to both Mamoru and Ami that the feud between the two girls was far from forgotten. "I do have to admit that it was quite a romantic way to end the night." She flipped her hair and leveled her gaze on Mamoru. "Wish I could say the same for my evening."

Mamoru rolled his eyes, not caring that he felt like a twelve-year-old doing it. "Rei, you are not going to make me feel guilty for what happened."

"Maybe not, but I'm allowed to try," Rei insisted with a glimmer in her eye.

Mamoru failed to follow her logic. "Listen, do I really need to say this again? I do not date. Just because you tricked me into coming on one doesn't mean that's changed. And even if I did date, you're too young for me. And even if you weren't too young for me, I don't believe in office romances."

Ami giggled, blushing when Rei and Mamoru turned to look at her. She shrugged sheepishly and said, "Sorry. I just thought it was funny. 'Office romance.'"

Mamoru chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're right. It's not exactly apt, is it?" He looked over at Rei, expecting her to either be amused by his unintentional joke or furious that he was still refusing her.

She surprised him by looking perfectly calm.

Mamoru looked at her warily. "What is it?"

Rei looked up at him, her face still completely placid. "You might say that now, Mamoru, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up."

Mamoru felt the muscles between his shoulders start to tense painfully. "Rei--"

"Don't worry, I won't trick you anymore," Rei assured him. "I'll just have to go about getting you the old-fashioned way. But I don't mind that. Contrary to popular belief, I can be patient when I want to be." That said, she flounced ahead of them, moving towards Mamoru's parked car.

Mamoru stared after her, completely flabbergasted. "I don't believe her."

"Neither do I," Ami answered. "But you have to admire her tenacity."

Mamoru shifted his gaze down to her and was shocked to discover that Ami was smiling. He was now thoroughly perplexed. "You people are driving me crazy. I thought you two were fighting!"

"We are," Ami said, her voice just a bit wistful. "But that doesn't mean I have to hate her." Ami smiled at him and then ran after Rei to climb into the backseat.

Mamoru just looked after them wondering what he had done to deserve this. He had to spend all of his free time battling deadly monsters from another world. The second round of the war had just started, and Nephrite wasn't going to be any easier to defeat than Jadeite had been. And his allies were two incomprehensible teenage girls.

"Luna's right. I'll never understand women."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I am so sorry that this wasn't released on time. Unfortunately, Classical Traditions owns my soul. Stupid college interfering with my fic writing.

Before anyone starts tearing their hair out, I promise that I will keep "the stars know everything" scenes to a minimum. They drove me crazy too, but I figured we all had to suffer through it at least once.

I feel that I must apologize for the lack of exam references in earlier chapters, particularly from Ami. To be perfectly honest, it never occurred to me, and then when I got to this chapter, I had a big "well, shit" moment. Of course, I have absolutely no idea how I would have been able to work it in, but I still feel like I dropped the ball on that one.

Another big huge thank you to my beta and my gamma, Yumeko and Dave respectively. You guys are the best editors ever, and I am so deliriously happy that you are ensuring that this story does not suck. Also, I'd like to thank Syrinx for her help with the dating conversations. I was completely stuck, and all I needed with a little shove in the right direction. Thanks babe! You rock!

Coming Soon - Part Eight: Father of Mine


	8. Father of Mine

Hands Fall Together  
Part Eight: Father of Mine  
8/27  
by Kihin Ranno  
R

Mamoru regarded the end of a school term as one of life's happiest times. It signaled the coming of a period where he could actually relax for a change. He didn't have to worry about deadlines or tests or labs or any of the other student drudgeries he looked upon as little more than necessity. He didn't have to dread seeing any specific professors day in and day out. And most importantly, he could sleep when he wanted and for however long he wanted, and if he felt like sleeping off a hangover as opposed to medicating it with coffee, he damn well could.

But it was hard to look forward to a long rest when his work as Tuxedo Kamen was unlikely to give him these few weeks off to recuperate.

Mamoru sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. He glanced over at Ami, blowing at Luna's tail so that it stopped blocking his vision. "So are you enjoying break? And regardless of the answer, I demand that you say that you are. I need to know somebody is."

Ami smiled half-heartedly. "Well, to tell you the truth I never really like breaks from school that much."

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"

"I never know what to do with myself when school isn't in session," Ami confessed. "Yes, I can start to work ahead for the next term, but it's not the same."

Mamoru's shoulders sagged. "Unbelievable."

Luna chuckled. "It's good that you're a dedicated student, Ami. I only wish that your influence could rub off on other people." She gave Mamoru a pointed look.

Mamoru frowned. "I will have you know that I still managed to get mostly As this semester. Granted, I deserved As in all of my classes--"

"On what planet?" Luna drawled. "You barely attended."

"I attended plenty before you hopped onto my bed and told me to don a cape and top hat," Mamoru grumbled good-naturedly.

Luna swatted at his ear lightly, and no more was said on the matter.

Mamoru turned back to Ami and said, "But seriously. How are you doing?"

Ami looked up at him, surprised and uncomprehending for an instant. Then the familiar frown crossed her features, and Mamoru knew she understood. He wished he hadn't had to bring the subject up again. "No better, no worse."

"I still can't believe she's taken it this far," Mamoru muttered, shaking his head.

"Obviously, you haven't had many dealings with teenage girls," Luna countered, though Mamoru could feel her tail fluffing out against his neck. "They can be worse than youma when they want to be."

Ami clasped her hands in front of her, her gaze dropping to the ground. "That's taking it a bit far."

"Maybe not in Rei's case," Mamoru pointed out. "I've been tempted to deal with her like I do them these past few days."

Ami shook her head. "I told you that it wasn't worth it getting involved. I wish you hadn't gone to see her."

"We had to do something, Ami," Luna said. "We can't just let this rift stand. Yes, you and Rei were able to function quite well during the last battle, but there's no telling how long you'll be able to keep that up. One of these days, someone will snap at an inopportune time, and there is no telling how much damage will result."

"At any rate, it didn't do us any good," Mamoru reported. "The three of us just wound up getting into an argument, and she never budged from her position."

"I just think that we all need to give her some space," Ami surmised, looking up at both of them. "Yes, she's upset, but we're not doing any good trying to force her to do what we want. The only thing we can do is sit and wait for her to calm down in her own time. And if she doesn't..." Ami trailed off, unwilling or unable to continue her thought.

Mamoru looked down at her, wondering if he should want to shake her or hug her. Her position was exasperating because it was such a passive one, and while he wasn't the most aggressive person he knew, just sitting around and letting things play out in this situation wasn't his preferred option. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that Luna had kept him awake the night before they went to see Rei until he agreed to do something about her. Perhaps she'd just infected him with her enthusiasm. But in the end, he knew that it was necessary. He'd wanted to let the girls handle things by themselves, but it had become clear that they weren't going to reach a resolution any time soon. So he'd stepped in - or rather, Luna had dragged him in.

And now Ami was telling him to switch back to being passive again. Not to mention, she was doing it for reasons that were irrefutably logical. She even felt sympathy for the girl she could by all rights refer to as her enemy. It amazed him, and it reminded him that Ami was a much better person than he was.

"If that's what you want, that's what we'll do, Ami," Mamoru promised.

Luna flexed her claws against Mamoru's skin, muttering irritably.

Mamoru reached up and flicked her ear. "Quit that."

Luna continued grumbling. "I still don't like it. I won't bring it up again, but if she starts anything at the meeting, I will not be responsible for my actions."

Ami didn't look particularly pleased with this news, but she said nothing. In the end, Mamoru doubted there was much she could have said that wouldn't have set the cat off again.

They rounded the corner to the shrine in silence, but both Mamoru and Ami came to a complete stop once they did so. They both stared in front of them, eyes wide. It was so unexpected that Mamoru couldn't even say it was the last thing he'd thought they would see when they rounded the corner. It hadn't even been on the list.

"Why is a limousine parked outside of the shrine?" Mamoru asked, feeling the need to state the obvious.

"Patron of the shrine come to visit?" Ami supplied.

"Maybe," Mamoru said. He started walking forward, motioning for Ami to follow. "I guess we'll find out."

Mamoru and Ami continued to make their way to the shrine, where they had agreed to hold a meeting to discuss fighting strategies and perhaps even train a bit later in the day. They climbed the stairs, sometimes taking two at a time to make the trip faster. When they reached the top, they were both mildly surprised to see Rei's grandfather sweeping the grounds with a broom far too big for him. Mamoru had to try very hard not to chuckle, though the looks Ami and Luna were giving him for finding that amusing were very helpful.

Rei's grandfather looked up and smiled widely - particularly when he saw Ami. "Well, if it isn't Rei's new friends! How nice of you to drop by."

Mamoru and Ami bowed by way of greeting. "Good afternoon. Have you seen Rei around? She's expecting us," Mamoru said.

"Really?" he asked, raising a bushy eyebrow. "She didn't mention anything to me. Then again, she never mentions anything to me unless it's to bother me about my medication or tell me that I'm annoying her." He sighed dramatically, leaning against the broom with his head sagging. "It's so hard having a granddaughter who only wants to yell at me."

Mamoru was about to excuse them in order to stop the old man's rambling, when Rei's grandfather suddenly appeared by Ami's side, leering at her hopefully. "I don't suppose you'd want to become a miko and help out around the shrine, eh? You look much more agreeable than my granddaughter." He waggled his eyebrows, grinning at her.

Ami turned bright red and inched away from the old man, shaking her head and bowing apologetically. "No, sir, I don't think I could. With my studies..." she trailed off, gesturing feebly to fill in the gaps of her sentence.

Mamoru could see that he wasn't about to give up that easily. He cleared his throat loudly and gave the other man a hard look, making it clear that that line of questioning was over. "So, where is Rei anyway?"

The old man jerked his thumb back towards the shrine's living quarters. "She's in there talking with her father."

Mamoru blinked. "Her father?"

"Didn't you see that limo?" Rei's grandfather asked smartly, hobbling back over to where he'd dropped his broom. "He came over a few minutes ago to speak to Rei. As a matter of fact, we should be hearing her yelling anytime now." He paused. "Actually, I'm surprised she's held out this long. They always get into a shouting match when he comes around."

Mamoru turned his gaze away from the old man and looked out at the residence of Hikawa Jinja. To be honest, he'd assumed that Rei was an orphan like him, only that she'd been lucky enough to have a grandfather to take her in. Learning that she had a father - and one she didn't like - made him remember just how much he didn't know about the two girls he was fighting alongside day after day. And it made him remember what Ami had said about giving Rei distance to deal with her own issues.

"Of course, I don't really blame her for getting riled up," Rei's grandfather continued.

"Why's that?" Mamoru asked before he could stop himself.

Rei's grandfather chuckled. "I shouldn't speak ill of the man. Ask Rei after he leaves. I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you exactly why she can't stand the sight of Senator Hino."

-----

For once, Rei was desperately wishing that a youma would attack the city so that she would have an excuse to get out of her normal life.

Her father was not a man she enjoyed seeing. All of their personal issues notwithstanding, he was just the sort of man she spent most of her time vowing not to get involved with. Whether this was a natural instinct to loathe hypocrisy or a result of being her father's daughter was still up for debate.

"So you came over to ask me for a favor?" Rei drawled, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Why am I not surprised?"

Senator Hino looked at her coolly through his gold wire-rimmed glasses. "Is it so wrong to ask for a favor? I do pay for your schooling and your life here at the shrine. You can't accuse me of not giving you anything, and all I'm asking is for something in return."

Rei found herself unable to argue with that logic. She hated that. "It would have been nice to hear from you after I was attacked by monsters at the archery class."

He blinked, as if not quite understanding how they had gotten from one subject to the next. Of course, it was infinitely clear to her, but he had his agenda on his mind first and foremost. She knew it was impossible to split his attention.

"I talked with your grandfather to make sure you were all right," Senator Hino insisted.

"Yes, but you could have talked to me," Rei muttered.

Senator Hino took a deep breath and nodded, commending her on the point but not acquiescing to doing anything wrong. When Rei was younger, she used to think he had been born without the ability to apologize. Now she realized that he could do it; he just generally chose not to. "I would have spoken with you, Rei, but as you know, our conversations have a tendency to become... heated."

She stifled a laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she'd heard such a gross understatement.

He continued, not noticing her amusement. "Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get into an argument that day." At the mention of time, he looked down at his watch. It was a trained reflex. "As a matter of fact, I don't have much time today either. Sadly, I am not lucky enough to receive vacations."

Rei closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to launch a number of verbal missiles in his direction at that reminder. She didn't have many memories of her childhood before coming to the shrine, but all the ones she did have revolved around her father's perpetual absence. She remembered her parents arguing one night, her mother accusing him of working himself to death. He'd said almost the same thing to her that night. Politicians didn't get time off.

She wanted to throw all of that and more in his face, but her grandfather had told her to try to be civil or he'd hide his medication. It was a ridiculous threat, but an effective one. So she would try it. They all knew she wouldn't succeed, but she was willing to put in the effort.

"Why did you come here?" Rei asked finally, opening her eyes and trying not to glare.

Senator Hino nodded and then shifted in his seat for a moment. "I trust you remember the hospital that was attacked?" he asked.

Rei tensed. "Vividly," she said quietly.

Predictably, her father didn't notice her discomfort. "Long before any of that happened, the hospital had been near finishing construction on a new children's wing. Remarkably, it remained virtually undamaged after the attack."

Rei found herself smiling softly. She would have to remember that as the only good thing that happened that day. "That's great," she said sincerely.

Senator Hino nodded in agreement. "It's going to be opened on Friday."

Rei sat for a moment, still contented by his news of the wing's survival. Then she furrowed her brow softly. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I'm going to preside over the ribbon cutting ceremony," Senator Hino explained.

Now Rei understood completely. All of her joy vanished from her face as if swept away by a strong wind. "And you want me to be by your side because you occasionally still want to play the family card."

He closed his eyes, his jaw clenching. "Rei--"

"Forget it," Rei said, getting to her feet. "I'm not going to be part of your political machine. If you want someone to play your daughter, go adopt an orphan for a day. I'm sure no one will notice."

"If you have no other plans, you have no reason not to be there," Senator Hino said, his voice tight.

Rei glared. "I just gave you a very good reason for why I won't be there."

"It doesn't satisfy me," he said quickly.

"Who said it had to?" Rei snapped.

Senator Hino got to his feet, holding up his hands as if the gesture would do something to calm her. "I am just asking that you do me this one favor--"

"No, it isn't just this one favor," Rei countered, her voice climbing in volume. "Every time it benefits you to look like a devoted family man, you drag me to some banquet or press conference or whatever. And I have to stand around like your doll, pretending I look happy while you reap all the benefit of my being there. Then you drop me off here, and I don't hear from you for months on end. Not until you need another favor." Rei shook her head. "I'm not doing it anymore. I told you, I'm not going."

"Rei, you're going."

"Why don't you listen to me?" Rei yelled, letting go of whatever restraint she had left. "Here's an idea: try being a father when there aren't any cameras around for a change? Maybe after you do that for awhile, I'd consider helping you, but until then, forget it."

Senator Hino started to turn red. "Rei, I am your father, and--"

"What did I just say?" Rei asked, walking around the table to close the distance between them. "You don't get to say that!"

"I get to say whatever I please!" he bellowed, taking her by surprise even though she should have realized that they were already past his normal breaking point. "I am still your father in blood, and you will show me the proper respect!"

"I give respect to those who deserve it! Not to those who feel they can do whatever they want because of entitlement," Rei countered bitterly.

Rei watched him open his mouth and then close it again. She assumed he was about to argue that he thought he did deserve that respect, but thought better of it for fear of sounding childish. After all, if he didn't assert his superiority over her in every way imaginable, she would have wondered if it was really him.

"Has your grandfather not taught you gratitude?" he hissed, his bright blue eyes narrowed cruelly.

"He taught me more than you ever did," she fired back even as her insides twisted. She wasn't going to let him get the best of her. That wasn't an option.

He sighed and turned away from her. "I wish our failures weren't so evident in you."

He might as well have punched her in the throat. Rei found herself wishing that he had. She hated when he did that. He had such a talent for finding the sorest spots and ripping open closed scars. His years in office had taught him well. Unfortunately, they hadn't taught him how to turn it off, so every time they had a conversation, it ended with this: him hurting her in the worst way she could imagine.

But he wasn't a complete demon. He never would be. That would be too easy. He always knew when he had gone too far and said the worst thing. "Rei, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "That was... I didn't mean--"

"Get out," Rei said, her voice dangerous.

Senator Hino turned back to her, looking as if she had almost made him hurt for a change. "But--"

"Get out!" Rei shouted at the top of her voice, her body trembling. "Maybe you are my father, but this isn't your home! It's mine! And I want you out of it!"

Senator Hino was about the respond when another voice reached her ears.

"Rei! Are you all right?"

She turned around just in time to see Mamoru open the sliding door and jog inside. Ami was not too far behind him. Rei felt like setting something on fire. She had forgotten they were coming. She should have sent her father on his way long before they arrived. Now they were there to see the part of her life she wanted to hide more than anything else. She felt like she was about to choke on the shame.

"Rei?" Mamoru asked again, his voice suspicious. He was looking at her father as if he were expecting him to sprout fangs at any moment. But again, that was too easy.

"Yeah," she said, her voice hoarse. "I'm fine. Fa-- Senator Hino was just leaving."

She didn't turn around to look at her father after that, but she hoped she'd made him wince. After a moment, she heard him sigh and start to walk out the door Mamoru and Ami had just come in through. She felt her muscles relax with each step he took, each meter he placed between them. She was almost calm enough to start breathing again when he looked over his shoulder, undoing all the good that had just been done.

"You're going to be there this Friday, Rei," he said softly. "Whether you like it or not."

Rei opened her mouth to start the argument up again, but she was too late. He hurried out the door before she could even get a syllable out. When she saw that she'd been bested, she let her shoulders sag and fell back into her seat, humiliated and utterly furious. But she couldn't say that she was surprised. Senator Hino always had the last word.

-----

Zoisite enjoyed attention. He liked it when he had been given special commendations during his initial training with the other Shitennou. He liked it when Kunzite gave him special looks or secret touches in the shadows just to remind Zoisite that he was there. He liked it when he could make Nephrite lose his temper just by being in the same room with him. He enjoyed the spotlight, and felt that he deserved it.

There was, however, one exception.

"You summoned me, Queen Beryl?" Zoisite said quickly, bowing to her while keeping his hand clasped tightly to his chest. His gloves were quickly growing damp from the sweat of his palms.

"I did," Beryl agreed, leaning back on her throne with an ease he envied. "I trust that you aware of your superiors' current duties?"

Zoisite clenched his fist. As uncomfortable as this situation was, it was being made worse by being reminded of his inferiority. He thought he heard a youma snicker behind him, and his cheeks turned pink with shame. "Kunzite is training the armies so that they will be ready when it comes time to invade. Nephrite is out gathering energy for the cause." He bit his tongue before he could say anything scathing and risk Beryl's wrath.

"Indeed," Beryl said. "And I also trust that you realize how important it is that we also get our hands on the Ginzuishou. If we don't have that stone within our grasp, any good done by Nephrite or Kunzite or even the failure Jadeite will be for naught."

"Yes, Queen Beryl."

"Therefore, I am assigning you the task of locating the crystal for our great army and Empress Metallia."

Zoisite blinked and looked up from the ground. "Really?"

Queen Beryl did not appear amused by his reaction. "Yes. I would not trust anyone else with this responsibility."

Zoisite found himself cheering up considerably. He had been specially appointed by Queen Beryl for a task! And it was one far more important than Nephrite's and perhaps even Kunzite's. Not to mention, it wasn't going to require too much effort. After all, how much work could it be to find one rock?

"I am honored to accept the task, Queen Beryl," Zoisite said grandly, bowing just a bit deeper than normal.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea, your highness?" a familiar voice drawled from the shadows.

Zoisite snarled and stood up, turning in time to see Nephrite appear at his side. "What do you care, Nephrite? You have your own work to do!" he snapped, mentally picturing how Nephrite would look without one of his limbs.

Nephrite glanced at Zoisite for only a second, making it clear that he would have rather been looking at a fly. Then he turned to Queen Beryl and said, "I would never think of questioning your judgment, Queen Beryl, but don't you think that something as important as finding the Ginzuishou ought to be handled by someone with more experience?"

"Someone such as yourself, you mean?" Queen Beryl asked, sounding bored.

Nephrite smirked. "The thought had crossed my mind."

Zoisite curled his lip and tried very hard not to stamp his feet. Kunzite had told him that no one took him seriously when he did that, and he was doing his best not to look childish. "You son of a bitch! Queen Beryl already gave that duty to me. You weren't even interested in it before!"

"Of course I was interested, Zoisite," Nephrite said coolly. "I just didn't make it obvious until I became concerned that some incompetent was going to fail and ruin all of Queen Beryl's plans."

"You mean like Jadeite?" Zoisite spat, knowing that it would hurt the other general.

Indeed, Nephrite began to turn to continue the argument. He might have even laid hands on him had Queen Beryl not intervened.

"Enough!" she called out, her voice echoing across the empty chasm of her throne room. "I have no patience for this. Nephrite, don't concern yourself with Zoisite's tasks. You have your own to be worried about."

"Have you even selected a new target yet?" Zoisite hissed boldly, knowing he should keep his mouth shut and not caring.

Nephrite scowled at him and then averted his gaze once more. "I have actually. A senator whose energy will peak at an inconsequential speech to be given this Friday."

"If it's so inconsequential, why is his energy peaking?" Zoisite asked. "Maybe your astrology is out of whack, Nephrite."

Nephrite didn't even look at him this time. "His energy is peaking because the stars deem it so."

Zoisite snorted. "Bullshit."

"Silence!" Queen Beryl shouted. "If you both would put this much effort into collecting energy and finding the crystal, we'd have the Earth taken over by now!"

Zoisite thought about pointing out that he'd only just been told he would be looking for the Ginzuishou, but then he realized that doing so would be suicide. He kept his mouth shut.

"Out of my sight. Both of you," Queen Beryl pronounced. "And don't return until you have something to report aside from your insufferable bickering!"

"Yes, Queen Beryl," Zoisite and Nephrite said in tandem. They both gave each other a look and then vanished as they had been ordered. After all, they both had work to do.

-----

Ami shut the door to her penthouse slowly by leaning her entire body up against the door. Even after that, she had no desire to move.

The meeting, such as it had been, had managed to zap her energy completely. To begin with, it had taken them nearly an hour to actually start the meeting. After Rei's father had stormed out of Hikawa Jinja following their argument, Rei's grandfather had come bursting in, demanding to know what had happened. That had spurred yet another row between Rei and one of her family patriarchs that went on for far longer than Ami thought possible. She suspected it was because Rei had enjoyed that particular fight.

When Rei's grandfather had finally grown bored of the exercise, Luna had managed to get them on task. Then Ami had been made to sit through three more hours of strategizing for future battles while trying to ignore the tension in the room caused not only by witnessing the earlier arguments but by the fact that she and Rei still were not getting along.

The one good thing that had resulted from the meeting was that Luna had to decided to put off their training session for later. Ami wondered if she was concerned that Rei would take her frustrations out on either Mamoru or herself. Whatever the case, Ami had been extremely grateful. As foolish as it seemed, Ami wanted nothing more than to sleep away the exhaustion that had resulted from sitting with Rei and Mamoru for the entire afternoon, trying not to say the wrong thing.

"Ami? Is that you?"

Ami looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected her mother to be home. Then again, she had no idea what her schedule was like for the break. Ami just always assumed she wouldn't be there. "Yes, mama," Ami called out. She pushed herself away from the door, stepped out of her shoes and into her slippers, and then walked from the foyer into the kitchen.

Immediately, Ami knew that something was wrong. She could tell because Dr. Mizuno had apparently made tea to soothe her nerves and then left it sitting on the table untouched. She was never that careless. Ami could also see her mother's normally smooth face creased with anxiety. She looked much older.

Ami was about to ask if everything was all right, when her mother spoke up. "You've been out all day."

Ami nodded in assent. "Yeah. Rei and Mamoru wanted to talk about something."

Dr. Mizuno's frown deepened. "How is that going?"

Ami hesitated, struggling to find something to tell her mother that wasn't completely a lie. "Better," she said.

"Good," Dr. Mizuno said, nodding in approval. "So, how far ahead are you in your studies?"

"Not much," Ami said quickly, knowing that her mother would be concerned with the fact that she wasn't farther. "Mama, what's wrong? And don't tell me nothing because I can tell that you're tense."

Dr. Mizuno looked up at her daughter, the left corner of her mouth turning up. "I ought to know better than to try to hide things from you." She took a deep breath and said, "Ami, I know that your father promised that you could spend some time with him over break..." she trailed off, obviously trying to figure out how to continue.

It was lucky for Ami that her mother was having trouble finding the right words. In all honesty, she had completely forgotten about visiting her father. She had been so excited when he offered; she'd barely managed to get to sleep that night. She hadn't seen him in years, and she was anxious to see him and not his paintings.

But everything had changed now. There was no way she could leave the Juuban area for a few days, much less for most of her break. Now that Nephrite had picked up where Jadeite had left off, there was no telling when or how he would strike. They had to be ready at all times. That was one of the things they had talked about in their meeting. She couldn't afford to take off and leave Rei and Mamoru alone to defend the city.

Of course, Rei probably would have preferred it that way, but Ami chose not to dwell on that.

"Uh, Mama," Ami started quietly, trying to think of a plausible reason why she couldn't go. "The thing is--"

"I just got one of his postcards today," Dr. Mizuno interrupted testily, apparently not hearing Ami. She held up the familiar scrap of paper, this time painted with a dolphin twisting in the open ocean. "He says that he's not going to be able to have you stay with him after all.

Ami stared at her mother for a moment. The information wasn't quite registering in her mind. Finally, Ami finally managed to say, "Oh."

"He didn't even give a reason," Dr. Mizuno continued. "But I'm sure it was much too complex for him to fit on a postcard. Heaven forbid he write a letter or get a phone up in his cabin so that he could call and explain--"

"Mama, please don't," Ami interrupted quietly. She hated when her mother talked about her father that way, even when it was justified.

Dr. Mizuno closed her mouth, swallowing her words. She looked at Ami sympathetically and said, "I'm sorry, Ami, I didn't mean to go on like that. I just... I know how much you were looking forward to this, and I hate to see you disappointed."

"It's all right," Ami said. "It... sort of makes things easier, doesn't it? After all, we weren't really sure how I was going to get up there. This way I can stay here and concentrate on my reading."

Dr. Mizuno looked at her daughter sadly and reached out to stroke her face. "You know, I'm supposed to go into work in about an hour, but I can call and--"

"No," Ami said quickly, shaking her head. "No, don't do that. I'm fine. Really."

Dr. Mizuno furrowed her brow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ami insisted, forcing a smile. "I'm sure we can work something out for next time anyway."

Dr. Mizuno nodded. "Yes, we'll try that."

Ami took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to go for a swim before I make dinner. I'll see you sometime tomorrow?"

"I suppose so," she said. When she leaned over the table and kissed Ami on the cheek, her lips felt cold. "Don't stay there for too long."

"I won't," Ami promised before turning and exiting the apartment.

Ami quickly made her way back to the elevator she had just ridden up on, pleased to find that it hadn't gone to any other floors. She stepped inside and pressed the button that would take her to the floor with the swimming pool and other gym facilities. She rode the elevator down, once again slumping against the walls.

She shouldn't be as disappointed as she was. After all, she was going to have to find a way to get out of it anyway. Her father had really just saved her the trouble. Logically, she had nothing to be upset about.

Ami looked up in surprise when the elevator dinged on her floor. She straightened and stepped out of the elevator, glancing into the area where all of the weights and aerobic workout machines were kept. Predictably, it was full of tenants trying to shape up for an important banquet or something along those lines. Ami also passed by the basketball courts and other areas she had to go by to get to the locker room. All of them seemed to be occupied as well.

She walked straight into the locker room, where she found several older women gossiping, wearing nothing but terrycloth towels too small for them. Ami ducked her head and blushed faintly, making her way past them without attracting attention to herself. Finally, she reached her locker and entered her combination. After pulling out her swimsuit, towel, and goggles, Ami turned to change in one of the lavatories.

A few minutes later, Ami exited a door on the other end of the locker room and walked out to the indoor pool. She was pleased to find that it was empty. When they had first moved here, the pool was one of the tenants' favorite attractions, but recently it had waned in popularity. Ami suspected it was because they were having a remarkably cool summer. When it got hotter, Ami felt that the pool would once again be the main draw.

Ami walked through the safety gate after swiping her card, granting her access. She walked over to one of the lounges and set down her towel. Then she busied herself with putting on her goggles as she walked over to the deep end of the pool.

She glanced at the deep blue of the water, thinking that it was almost the same shade as her father's postcard.

Ami's face fell with the reminder, though in truth she hadn't really forgotten about it. She'd just been trying to ignore it after thinking that she really had no reason to be upset about it.

But that didn't change the fact that she was upset. She might have forgotten about it, and she might not have wanted to go after all, but her father had been the one to call it off. And he had done so with barely any notice and absolutely no explanation. He couldn't say that he was too busy. He was living in a cabin in the woods with no electricity so he could dedicate himself to his art. He had plenty of time for that. He had invited Ami telling her all of those things specifically.

And now he had cancelled their plans without telling her anything.

Ami was suddenly reminded of Rei's argument with her father earlier. Something about witnessing the scene had made Ami intensely uncomfortable, and she suddenly realized why. Rei and her father clearly didn't have a good relationship, but there was one fundamental difference between Ami's relationship with her father and the priestess's with her own.

Rei got to see her father once in awhile.

Ami shook her head rapidly and stepped up to the edge of the pool. She barely took the time to position herself correctly before diving in to the water, fully immersing herself. It was strangely cold, forming goosebumps all over her skin, but Ami didn't mind. She almost liked the chill. It made her feel numb.

-----

The next morning, Nephrite arrived at the senator's office long before he thought the man was due to arrive, but he still wasn't the slightest bit surprised that he walked in all of five minutes later.

He flipped on the light switch, searching through his briefcase for something with a smoothness that suggested the action was less out of leave and more out of habit. He didn't notice Nephrite immediately, doing a double take when he did see the auburn-haired stranger sitting on his couch as if posed. He blinked and stared at Nephrite through his gold wire glasses. He was instantly suspicious, but he was trying not to look it. A true politician.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," he said neutrally.

A smile swept across Nephrite's features as he rose to his feet. "No, I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure, Senator Hino. I'm new to Tokyo. My name is Sanjouin Masato." He stuck his hand out, mimicking the Western greeting. If his research was correct, politicians often preferred such gestures in favor of the traditional Eastern ones.

Senator Hino didn't bat an eyelash, taking Nephrite's hand and giving it a swift shake. He dropped it just as quickly, turning to go to his desk. Nephrite found himself smirking as the senator showed him his back. A true politician, but most definitely not a soldier.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

Nephrite made sure to change the smirk to a grin and strode forward confidently. "No, but I suspect there is something I can do for you."

Nephrite watched the senator's ears perk up. He was no stranger to this sort of thing. He knew exactly when money was being alluded to. He glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "You wish to make a donation to the party?"

"Yes," Nephrite assented. "I called yesterday to try and figure out how to best go about it, but I got the run around."

Senator Hino seemed to be resisting the urge to roll his eyes. To supplement the action, he pulled his glasses off his face, allowing them to hang freely about his neck. "Interns," he muttered. "They never know who's in charge of what until the day before they leave."

Nephrite chuckled, sharing in the joke. "I am sorry to bother you with this. I know it's not anything you would personally handle, but I didn't know who else to go to." He paused, considered looking sheepish, and decided against it. Sanjouin Masato was far too self-assured to act uncertain. "Although, I confess I did it partially in hopes of meeting you. I might be new in town, but I'm familiar with your political career."

That seemed to make Senator Hino brighten instantly. Nephrite realized he should have started with flattery. It would have made the past few moments much less awkward for the senator and made him that much more trusting.

"Is that so?" the senator asked, clearly wishing to hear details.

"And I've heard so much about you from others in town already," Nephrite continued. "About your honesty, your dedication, your ambition..." Nephrite trailed off, glancing around the room to try and pick up on something personal. He caught sight of a picture frame on the table. A school photo of a girl of about fourteen. "Not to mention your love for your family."

Nephrite watched the senator's face carefully. He saw the other man tense, swallow, and reflexively look over at the picture as well. He cleared his throat and said, "I believe I have some forms in here somewhere that should make the donation process go smoothly."

Senator Hino turned briskly, tense after Nephrite's apparent faux pas. Sensing that he ought to get out before anyone happened by, he sped up the process, looking intently at the chain attached to Senator Hino's glasses.

It snapped in half, causing the eyewear to fall to the ground. Surprisingly, Senator Hino didn't appear to notice. Of course, that was good. It would make the next part easier.

"Your glasses fell," Nephrite announced, walking over to them. "Let me get them for you."

"Oh, thank you," Senator Hino said as he opened his file cabinet, not looking over his shoulder.

Nephrite crouched down, holding his hand right above the fallen glasses. He curled his fingers slightly, narrowing his eyes intently. He concentrated as hard as he could, pulling dark energy from his own body to fuel the spell. He furrowed his brow to the point of pain. His hand felt so cold that it began to burn. Finally, the shadows flared, and his red symbol flashed inside the lens.

It was done.

Nephrite took a breath, his head pounding but otherwise fine. He deftly picked up the eyewear between his fingers, setting them on the desk. Then he mimed looking at his watch, making sure that there was one on his wrist so that he was not caught in a lie after all that effort. "Oh, dear. I'm running late. I'm going to have to return some other time for those papers, Senator Hino. Thank you very much for your time."

"Oh, if you'll just wait one--"

But by the time Senator Hino had turned around, Nephrite was gone.

-----

"Rei!"

At the sound of her name, Rei came to a halt, her arms hanging down stiffly at her sides with a bucket of water in each of them. She turned around to see her grandfather hobbling towards her, his eyes hidden beneath his wrinkled brow. He did not look happy, but then he hadn't looked happy since she'd chased her father out of the shrine the day before. And she had a sinking feeling that that's what this was about.

"I want to talk to you," her grandfather said as he drew near.

Rei closed her eyes and muttered. "If it's anything about my father, forget it. I'm tired of the subject."

"And you don't think I'm tired? I have a few centuries on you. I'm exhausted!"

Rei took a deep breath. "Grandpa..."

He shook his head. "Don't whine at me. You're not too big for me to put over my knee, you know."

After that, Rei had to set the buckets down so that she could laugh without dropping them. "Not too big? Grandpa, the last time you tried that, I got away and wound up hitting you with the broom."

He glared at her, not amused. "I know. I still have the scars to prove it." He pointed a finger at her, standing up on tiptoe to try to make himself more imposing.  
"I ought to have had you taken away for abusing a defenseless old man!"

"Defenseless? How?" Rei asked, folding her arms in front of her chest. "The next morning you dumped a tub full of ice water on me while I was sleeping. And then you acted surprised when I had to go to the emergency room with a fever later on."

Seeing that he wasn't going to win this particular fight, her grandfather quickly moved on to another topic. "Rei, I need to talk to you about this."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Grandpa, I told you yesterday. He insulted me, so I turned him out. And I am not going to spend time with a man who is rude to me when he does actually bother to stop by."

"I don't doubt that he said something wrong, Rei," her grandfather said, taking on that tone he used on the rare occasion he wanted to sound reasonable. "But how much did you goad him before that?"

Rei's cheeks turned pink. She narrowed her eyes, leaning over her grandfather in an attempt to assert her height. "That doesn't matter!"

"Bah!" her grandfather said, turning his head. "Of course it matters, Rei. You can't kick a lion over and over again and then blame the animal when it bites your head off."

"He's my father. He should be able to control his temper," Rei insisted, her jaw starting to clench.

Her grandfather let out a loud bark. "Listen to yourself. You're blaming him for not taking responsibility for his own actions, when you refuse to do the same thing. Don't be hypocritical, Rei. No one will take you seriously that way."

"If I am hypocritical, then it's hereditary!" Rei snapped. "He's the one who calls himself my father, but has you raise me."

"Would you rather have lived with him, been raised by a maid, and turned into a snobby, overindulged little brat like every other daughter of a politician?" he asked.

"Of course not," Rei answered, exasperated.

"Then stop complaining," he ordered, jumping up and flicking her forehead.

"Ow!" Rei shouted, covering the spot with her hand. "What did you do that for? And why are you taking his side anyway?"

Her grandfather sighed and said, "Rei, your father and I have had our problems in the past." He stopped, growing distant for a moment. Rei knew he was thinking of her mother, how she had left her quiet life at the shrine in favor of becoming a politician's wife. Rei sometimes wondered if her grandfather blamed her father for her mother's death. She wouldn't have been upset with him if he did. After all, that's how she felt.

"Grandpa?" she asked quietly, wanting to get his mind off things that could not be altered.

He nodded, blinking quickly. "But he's a good man."

"Good men don't--"

"Rei," her grandfather interrupted. "He's a good man. You're allowed to disagree with me on that, of course. Just like you do everything else." He paused to roll his eyes, no doubt silently lamenting the fact that she was so willful. "He's human, and he's made some mistakes. If you never want to forgive him, that's your burden. And I'll tell you you're being an idiot every step of the way--"

"Just get to the point," Rei ground out through her teeth.

"But he's still your family," her grandfather concluded. "You ought to stick by your family." He paused, once again looking thoughtful. "Even when you want to strangle them, you should stick by them."

For a moment, Rei was confused, but then it dawned on her. They weren't really talking about her father at all.

"Do you really want me to do this, Grandpa?" Rei asked quietly.

He nodded, not saying a word.

Rei wanted to say no. She didn't want to help out her father. She wanted to tell her grandfather that she wouldn't be sorry if he died suddenly, but she couldn't say that. It was too cruel.

"I suppose I'll do it then," she murmured distastefully.

He brightened immediately, becoming cheeky again. "Good!"

She shook her head, bending down to pick up the water buckets. "I can't believe you talked me into this."

He shrugged. "It was either that or club you over the head and throw you in the trunk of my friend's car. I figured you'd like it better this way."

"You're wrong," Rei said, turning on her heel to continue with her chores. "You better not make me regret this!"

"You won't!" her grandfather called out after her.

Rei sighed, her gaze falling to the ground. "I doubt that."

-----

"This is ridiculous!"

The speech writers jumped at the sound of his voice, exchanging frightful glances with one another. "Um... What's ridiculous about it, Senator Hino?"

Nibori glared at them for not automatically knowing what was wrong with it. It was so glaringly obvious that he was surprised they'd had the gall to turn it in to him. He tossed the papers back in their faces, watching as two of them bent to pick them up off the floor. "Do you really expect me to stand up and deliver such a pointless speech?"

The head speech writer once again looked at a loss. "Pointless? I'm afraid I don't quite--"

"There is nothing topical in the whole damn thing!" Nibori thundered, gesturing grandly. "People who don't follow politics are going to be watching this speech.  
This is the perfect opportunity to talk about something relevant - issues voters care about. And all you have me doing is rambling on about the future of Japan and state-of-the-art health care!"

The head speech writer continued stammering, looking down at her colleagues who were in the process of trying to put the pages in order. "Well, if you'll excuse me for saying so, Senator Hino, I really don't think this is the place for--"

"There will be cameras and viewers tuning in; of course it's the place for such things," Senator Hino countered. "There must be some way to talk about issues that matter."

"The Children's Wing does matter," the younger woman snapped, her fingers tightening over the folders she was carrying. "People care about that."

"But it won't get me votes come election time, will it?" Senator Hino insisted.

The speech writer took a breath. "By associating yourself with humanitarian causes--"

"I can fake sympathy in my sleep!" Nibori shouted. "They always see me doing that. But how often do they get to see me talking about issues outside of a debate?"

"I don't see what there is to--"

"There is plenty to talk about," Nibori interrupted. "Sanitation workers are threatening to strike, tourism is down, and our law enforcement has been cuckolded by the presence of those school girl warriors and their masked companion... What's his name? Tuxedo Man?"

"Tuxedo Kamen," one of the speech writers corrected.

Nibori gestured at the man instantly. "See! You know this stuff better than I do. Why aren't you writing about it?"

The head speech writer took a moment to process the information. "Well, Senator Hino, there isn't much to say on the matter. The Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen are not really up for debate."

"They ought to be," Nibori insisted. "The amount of property damage alone is enough to take issue with. But there's far more that I could talk about! The opening of this wing wouldn't be so momentous if the rest of the hospital hadn't been wrecked during their fights."

The head speech writer looked appalled by this suggestion. "But--"

"Oh, forget it," Nibori snapped, reaching down and yanking the pages out of the hands of the other writers. "If you three can't do what I want, I'll just do it myself."

The same woman blinked. "But Senator Hino, you have so much else you have to do. You can't possibly--"

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" he raged, leaning forward and practically snarling at the woman. "I have plenty of time to get everything done without the benefit of incompetent workers."

The three speech writers stood staring for a moment, until their superior broke off and stormed out of the room. The other two men then followed after her, not wanting to stay with the senator any longer.

Nibori scoffed at their backs, shaking his head. "Damn fools." He slipped his glasses on over his ears, pulled out a blue pen, and began rewriting the entire speech on the back of the pages they had given him. He may have had plenty of time, but that didn't mean he had any to waste. He was a very busy man.

-----

It was Thursday morning during the first week of vacation, and Mamoru was up to see the sunrise. It was not by choice.

Mamoru groaned, leaning against the kitchen counter with his chin cupped in his hand. He would have liked nothing better than to still be in bed, sleeping away the day if necessary, but that was no longer an option. He had been woken up several minutes ago after yet another bad dream, and he knew from experience that there would be no more sleep for him that day. Rather than lie around in bed and sulk about it, he decided it was better to get up and start the day early.

But he certainly wasn't happy about it.

"I don't see why you had to wake me up too," Luna grumbled as she walked into the room, pausing to stretch out all of her legs.

"If I have to suffer, so do you," Mamoru muttered, staring as his coffee continued to percolate. It was rather mesmerizing.

Luna yawned and hopped up on to the counter, inching as close to the coffeemaker as she dared for warmth. "If you're having problems with insomnia, you ought to take a sleeping pill or something."

"I took two last night," Mamoru sighed. "Still woke up too early."

"Well, there has to be some explanation," Luna insisted groggily. "Maybe you're so used to not getting sleep that your body won't let you rest up now that you have the chance."

Mamoru looked over at her, his dark bangs falling in his eyes and making it hard to see. Here he was presented with yet another opportunity to tell Luna about the dreams. He really ought to considering they probably concerned the mission. But still, something held him back. As if she wasn't really the right person - well, cat - to talk about it with.

He sighed and said, "Maybe. I think it also has something to do with Rei."

Luna frowned. "Her issues with Ami keeping you up at night?"

"I've all but given up on that," Mamoru confessed. "I was actually thinking about her father."

Luna looked at him oddly. "Why would you be--"

"Move, coffee's ready," Mamoru interrupted. He waited until she had jumped off the counter to remove the precious liquid, smiling dreamily as he poured it into a cup. He inhaled the aroma and proceeded to dump as much sugar into the drink as he could stand.

"As I was saying," Luna continued, sounding irritated. "Why would you be worried about that? You're not the type to meddle."

Mamoru nodded in assent. "I know. I just... don't understand why they don't live together."

"Well, that's really none of your business, is it?"

Mamoru rolled his eyes and started to stir in the sugar. "Luna."

"All right, all right," she said. "I'm just saying that there are probably circumstances we don't know about and are never going to know about because it doesn't concern either of us. Unless Rei's living situation somehow impacted the mission, we would never have cause to know."

Mamoru nodded, knowing that she was right, but unable to get past it. He turned around, cupping the mug between his hands. "I just... don't see why a father would willingly allow his daughter to live away from him if he had the means to support her." He paused, a lump forming in his throat. "He ought to see her every chance he gets."

Luna looked up at him, sensing something was wrong. "Mamoru?"

He didn't answer, staring down into the dark liquid. He suddenly realized that he ought to be grateful that dreams of the princess were waking him up early now. When he had gone to the sleep therapist to make them go away when he was a boy, he had heard her talking with a colleague. She had been surprised that his trauma had manifested in such a strange way. She would have thought he'd be having nightmares about cars driving over cliffs.

That was how he found out how they died.

"Mamoru?" Luna repeated, this time louder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mamoru said softly, taking a sip of his drink even though it was certain to scald his throat.

Luna knew better than to take this answer at face value. "Mamoru, why don't you ever say anything about your parents?"

Mamoru stiffened. He took the cup away from his lips and said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Luna looked up at him, clearly concerned. "Mamoru--"

"It doesn't have anything to do with the mission," he said loudly. "Why do you care?"

His words had hurt her. He knew that. He could tell by the way her tail and whiskers started to droop. He also knew that he should apologize and smooth things over without continuing the subject.

He took another sip of the coffee.

"Well, I suppose one thing's for certain," Luna said quietly, breaking the stressed silence between them.

Mamoru glanced up. "Yes?"

"With a father like that, it's no wonder Rei is the way she is."

-----

"So, you've finally gotten tired of being in the background."

Senator Hino looked up from his work, his glasses slipping down his nose at the sudden movement. He reached up and adjusted them before looking back down. "Good afternoon, Senator Roku."

The senator sighed, shaking his greying head. "In one of those moods I see."

"I'm working," Senator Hino snapped quickly. "I don't have time to speak with you right now."

"When aren't you working?" Senator Roku joked. "You haven't taken a vacation in over five years. I wasn't coming here expecting to find you unoccupied."

Senator Hino exhaled gruffly. "If you knew I wouldn't have time for you, why did you come here to bother me?"

"Nibori," the older senator said gently, stopping the younger politician in his movements. "I am here as your friend and your mentor."

Senator Hino raised an eyebrow, sparing a quick glance upwards. "What else would you come as, Senator Roku?"

"Your enemy?" Senator Roku joked.

"Doubtful," Senator Hino answered mirthlessly. "This is your final term."

Senator Roku sighed. "Humorless as always."

"Senator Roku, much as I appreciate all you have done for me, I really do have work to be doing," Senator Hino said tightly. "If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, please leave."

"I need to talk to you about your latest platform," Senator Roku said flatly. "I heard your secretary talking with my secretary on her lunch break, and I have to say, I'm not pleased."

Senator Hino looked up, his dark eyes narrowing. "Are you saying you want to entrust your well-being to the hands of children?"

"Of course not," Senator Roku said sternly. "I am not saying I disagree with you on this point, Nibori. I quite agree that these... Sailor Senshi as they call themselves are dangerous. Many of our colleagues agree with us on this."

Senator Hino rose to his feet, slamming his palms down on the top of the desk. "Then why have they not come forward and said something? The longer we allow this to go on without speaking out, the more dangerous the situation becomes!"

Senator Roku looked at his protégé, clearly amused. "Would you care to be the one to physically put a stop to their works, Nibori? I know you have read the reports on their capabilities. They are dangerous beings."

"So we just let them do what they want because we're cowards?" Senator Hino spat.

"No," Senator Roku said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "However, that must be a consideration. Several of us are planning on speaking out against them, but it is a delicate situation. The majority of the public seems to be with them."

"Then the majority of the public are fools," Senator Hino raged.

Senator Roku chuckled, amused. "Well, of course they are, Nibori. But fools or no, they are still our constituents, and sometimes, we have to hold our tongues to keep them on our side."

Senator Hino shook his head. "I'm not willing to do that."

"Then you had better be willing to lose some voters," Senator Roku said gravely. "It is better to wait for these people to screw up badly enough to turn more people to our side. As it is now, our position would be favored only by a minority. Is it ridiculous? Of course. But it is going to take a disaster to bring the public over to our side. After all, these senshi are the saviors of their children."

Senator Hino scoffed. "I'm a father, but I know that my daughter would not be in danger if it weren't for these menaces."

A strange look crossed Senator Roku's face as his eyes glanced down to the picture of Rei on the desk. "Well, not everyone's parenting skills are on level with yours, Nibori."

Senator Hino curled his lip and walked out from behind the desk. "If you're going to insult me, then get out."

"Forgive me," Senator Roku said, holding up his hands. "I did not come here for that."

"No!" Senator Hino bellowed, making his mentor jump a bit. "I know why you came here. You've come to stop me from bringing this position forward. You want to do it yourself; one last hurrah before your retirement."

Senator Roku frowned. "Nibori, don't be--"

"Well, I won't fall for it," Senator Hino snarled. "I'm going to be the face behind this campaign. In fact, I'll even hold a conference in a few hours just to be certain you aren't able to undermine me."

"This afternoon?" Senator Roku asked in disbelief. "There's no way you'll be able to--"

"I won't have you telling me what to do anymore!" Senator Hino shouted, stalking forward. "You're the one who always told me to be careful, and now look at me! I'm at my prime, and this is all I have to show for it." He spread his arms wide. "If it weren't for you, I could be at the top of my game. Everyone would know who I was! I would be as important as I always wished to be!"

"Or no one would know your name and you'd be some drunken, widowed salaryman," Senator Roku said acidly, putting emphasis in the worst place imaginable.

"Enough!" Senator Hino said, reaching forward and taking his mentor by the arm, forcibly leading him out of the office. "I am going ahead with this campaign. I won't let you weasel your way in on this."

Senator Roku struggled. "Nibori, I'm trying to help you! Getting involved in this now could be political suicide!"

"It will be my greatest triumph," Senator Hino insisted, pushing the older man away. "And you will have no part in it."

That said, the younger man turned on his heel and stalked back into his office, slamming the doors behind him. He stood there for a moment and panted, his fingers curled against the doorknob. He couldn't believe his old friend had tried to deceive him like that. Did Roku think he was stupid? Did he honestly think he wouldn't see through that transparent ploy?

Well, it was of no concern to him. He was going to continue on as planned. He would be the first to speak out against the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen. There might be some resistance, but in the end, he would triumph and be lofted a hero once they were brought down.

He strode forward to his desk and picked up the phone, connecting directly to his secretary. "Saito! Call every news station on our rolodex and get them down here by four o'clock. I have an announcement to make."

-----

"I'm home!" Usagi called out as she raced into her house, her arms aching from the weight of the shopping bags she held. She was about to walk straight into the living room where she could hear her parents watching television. She glanced down at the bags, including the various receipts resting on top of the clothes, manga, and stuffed animals she had purchased. She quickly shoved all but one bag into the closet, struggling to close it afterwards. Eventually, she heard the door click shut and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she stood straight and bounced into the living room, one bag in hand.

Her father glanced over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "Only one? I was expecting you to come home with ten."

Usagi was very glad she'd thought to hide most of her purchases. She'd brought home twelve. "No, I was good. But you should have seen Naru. She must have had at least seven."

"Could you two keep it down?" her mother asked gently. "I'm trying to hear."

"Sorry, dear," her husband said quickly, turning back around and swinging an arm over his wife's shoulders for good measure.

Usagi looked towards the television set to see what they were watching. It didn't seem to be anything fun. Just a man standing in front of a building talking.  
"What's this?"

"It's Senator Hino," her father said quickly.

"Who?"

Her father sighed in that way he always did. "He's a politician."

"Oh," Usagi said, although she wanted very much to point out that he hadn't answered her question at all. "What's going on?"

"He's giving a press conference."

"What's it about?"

"Usagi, why don't you just watch?" her mother asked, exasperated.

"Because it looks boring," Usagi said truthfully.

Her father turned to look at her again. "Actually, you might be interested in this. He's talking about the Sailor Senshi and that Tuxedo Kamen fellow."

Usagi felt her heart skip a beat. No way was she going to pass up listening to some guy talk about the hero who had saved her life on several occasions. Of course, he was going to overlook the important things like how he was undoubtedly incredibly handsome underneath that mask and the fact that he was destined to marry her just as soon as she could properly fill out a wedding gown. But no one was perfect.

Except maybe Tuxedo Kamen.

She ran around in front of the couch, plopping on to the floor at her parent's feet. She pulled on her father's pant leg, code language to ask him to turn it up. He did so, but she would bet anything that he had rolled his eyes as he did so and mouthed something about how she was bound to go deaf any day now.

"...I can't excuse our law enforcement for being so ill-equipped and ill-prepared to deal with this threat," Senator Hino lectured, his blue eyes darting to look at various members of the crowd.

Usagi tipped her head to the side. "How were they supposed to be ready to deal with monsters?"

"Shh!" her mother hissed. "Usagi!"

"Sorry."

"However, I also cannot excuse the so-called defenders of Tokyo, the three warriors who call themselves Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, and Tuxedo Kamen from what they have done to this city!" Senator Hino said, his hands making slicing gestures through the air. "Witnesses to the attacks on our city have reported that these soldiers are young, possibly no older than fourteen."

"My God," Ikuko whispered. Usagi felt her father's hand pat her head, as if reassuring himself that she was still there.

Senator Hino did not pause while her parents fretted over her. "It is unthinkable that people so young have such dangerous powers, and it is irresponsible to allow them to continue. People have already died as a result of their foolhardiness."

Usagi sat up straight. "That wasn't them!" she yelled, wishing that she weren't just yelling at a television set.

"They do not have the correct judgment to wield these powers. They are a danger not only to themselves but to the entire community! That is why I cannot allow these three to continue operating under these circumstances. The monsters who have invaded our city need to be stopped. But I say that these children need to be stopped as well!"

"They're the only ones who can save us!" Usagi insisted. She turned back to look at her parents. "He doesn't understand. He hasn't seen what those... things can do!"

"Usagi, calm down," Ikuko soothed.

"No!" Usagi yelled, getting to her feet. "I'm not going to calm down. He's wrong!"

Kenji sighed. "That may be, Usagi, but he's entitled to his opinion."

"Not when he's wrong." Usagi spun around and ran over to the television, switching it off.

"Usagi!" Ikuko scolded.

"I'm not going to have you watch that," Usagi insisted. "He's... He's... I don't know what he is, but he can't say things like that about them. He just can't."

Kenji held up his hands. "I'm sure that Senator Hino is in the minority here, Usagi. Everyone knows those three have saved countless lives, that they're the ones trying to save us. Senator Hino is probably just offended because the government can't take the credit for creating them."

"Kenji, really," Ikuko chided.

He shrugged. "It's probably true."

"How can he say that?" Usagi continued, choosing to ignore what her parents had said. "How can he just dismiss all the good they've done?" She folded her arms across her chest. "I bet he'd say something different if they'd saved his life."

"I don't doubt that," Kenji muttered.

"So cynical today," Ikuko answered, shaking her head.

"Someone has to take a genuine look at things."

"And why does it have to be you?"

"Because you and Usagi are too optimistic, and Shingo's too young to care."

"I'm not too optimistic. I simply choose not to see corruption in everyone."

"There is corruption in everyone."

"You've been working at that paper for far too long."

"So they tell me."

"You don't believe him do you?"

Kenji and Ikuko both turned to look at their daughter, four eyebrows raised in her direction. "What?" Ikuko asked.

"Do you believe him?" Usagi asked softly, fearful of their answer. "Do you think they're... dangerous?"

Her parents exchanged one of their secret looks, communicating with words Usagi knew she could never hope to understand. After a moment, her mother walked forward, holding out her arms. Usagi threw herself between them before her mother was ready for the impact, staggering under her daughter's weight.

"Poor little Usagi," her mother murmured sadly. "You shouldn't be thinking about this."

"Just tell me," Usagi whimpered, tears gathering in her eyes.

Ikuko sighed. "I think it's tragic that people as young as you are have to be saddled with these problems. They should be in school getting an education and doing everything else just like normal people their age."

"I think it's cool that one of them can throw fire," Kenji said thoughtfully.

Ikuko's head fell, her forehead landing on one of Usagi's buns. "Kenji..."

"Right, inappropriate. Sorry." Usagi felt a hand fall on her shoulder. She looked up to see her father smiling down at her softly. "I'm just happy that someone is here who can protect you and Shingo." He paused. "Aside from that Motoki of course."

Usagi smiled, certain that her cheeks colored when her father mentioned the name. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice.

He rubbed her forearm. "Now cheer up. I'm the only one allowed to wear a long face around here."

Usagi left her mother's embrace only to lose herself in her father's. She squeezed him tightly enough to make him complain about his ribs, but Ikuko just chuckled and laid a hand on Usagi's head. Usagi sighed contentedly, feeling as though she could almost forgive Senator Hino for being a complete idiot. She felt content, locked in a perfect family moment.

That's when she heard the sound of the closet door opening followed by a crash.

Usagi's eyes flew open. "Uh-oh."

"What was that?" Ikuko asked, pulling away from the pair of them to inspect the strange noise. A moment later, she called out, "Usagi?"

"Yes, mama?" Usagi yelled back nervously.

"Why is there a mountain of clothes, stuffed animals, and manga in my foyer?"

Usagi looked up at her father's face, hoping to charm him out of yelling at her. But when she saw that wasn't going to work, she wanted desperately for Tuxedo Kamen to magically appear and save her from his wrath.

Unfortunately for her, this time, her hero didn't show up.

-----

Rei heaved a sigh as she looked into her closet, shoving the hangers full of clothing she hardly ever wore to the left and right, searching for a suitable outfit for her father's press conference.

With a grunt of effort, Rei shoved just about all of her wardrobe to one side, exposing a small patch of white she usually kept hidden. They were a collection of nearly identical dresses, varying in size and little else. They had been presents from her father - the same one every year, delivered in the general vicinity of April 17th. Every year, they almost fit.

She reached forward, brushing her fingertips against the fabric. They were expensive and well-crafted; anyone could see that. She could remember receiving the first of many the year after her father had left her at the shrine. It had arrived on time, and she had been so excited when she'd opened it. It was a beautiful dress - her grandfather said it made her look very grown-up. She had held it up to her body and twirled until she felt she was going to be sick. She'd been so happy. She felt like it was proof that her father still cared. Maybe it was even a sign that he was going to take her back.

Of course, she'd learned the truth when she'd waited at the curb for over an hour for her father's limousine to show up, huddling underneath her grandfather's umbrella. He hadn't shown up. It was the first of many disappointments, but it was the only time Rei had ripped the dress off her body and cried until she really made herself sick.

"Stupid," Rei admonished her childhood self. "Thinking that meant he cared about you. His secretary probably bought it for him."

Rei shook her head and covered up the dresses once more. She didn't even know why she'd bothered to look at them. They were just as inappropriate for the event as her Shinto robes.

"I have nothing to wear," Rei muttered.

"I hope you mean that ironically."

Rei jumped a bit, calming when she realized who had spoken. She turned to see Luna sitting on her bed, looking at her with some distaste. "Do you always sneak up on people like that?"

Luna flicked her tail. "If you'd been paying attention, you would have known I was here."

Much as she hated to, Rei had to concede that point. "I have a lot on my mind."

"The press conference with your father?" Luna asked knowingly.

"Among other things," Rei said.

"But that's the worst of it."

Rei scoffed and turned back around to her closet. "I don't need to be psychoanalyzed by a cat, thanks very much."

"Rei, I just want to know what it is that's bothering you," Luna insisted.

"You hardly know me," Rei countered, crouching down to look at her pile of shoes. Perhaps she'd actually get somewhere if she started from the bottom and worked her way up. "How do you know I'm not always this way?"

"That must be a very frustrating existence then."

Rei scowled. "Luna, if you want to say something--"

"I just wish you weren't so hostile with all of us," Luna finally said, coming to her point. "I gave you no reason to be angry, but you went on the defensive the moment you saw me."

Rei threw one of her old shoes to the back of the closet. "I'm in a bad mood."

"Clearly," Luna muttered. "And then there's the situation with Ami--"

Rei covered her eyes with her palm and groaned. "Not that again."

"You know as well as I do that carrying on this feud is ridiculous," Luna said.

"I know no such thing," Rei maintained.

Luna sighed behind her. "Rei, is there a reason you're hanging on to this grudge? An actual reason, not just the tripe you've been spouting off to everyone since this all began?"

"Those are my actual reasons."

"I don't believe you," Luna said. "And if it were true, then you would be rather pathetic."

Rei snarled and stood up. "That's it." She turned around, clenching her fists as she advanced on the feline perched upon her bed. "I don't have to take this from you. I don't understand why you won't let this thing with Ami go. It's between the two of us, and it's not like we're going to let it get in the way of anything. We did just fine against that... car thing, didn't we? And don't think I haven't noticed the looks you've been giving me ever since my date with Mamoru."

"Date?" Luna guffawed. "Rei, don't be delusional."

"Oh, don't lecture me on semantics!" Rei snapped. "You know what I meant."

Luna shook her head. "I just want things to be peaceful between us."

"Well, if you would stop criticizing me..." Rei grumbled.

"If you stopped acting like a spoiled brat, then I wouldn't have to criticize anyone."

Rei narrowed her eyes. She had quite a lot more to say to Luna, but at that point she didn't have the patience to deal with it. So, she reached forward and grabbed Luna by the scruff of the neck, marching over to the open window Luna had no doubt climbed in through.

"Rei! Put me down! This is-- Rei, don't be ridiculous. I'm not just some housecat you can--"

Without ceremony, Rei set Luna outside, slamming the window shut behind her. The cat turned back to the window the moment it was closed, yowling and hissing at her. Rei simply stood there, waving goodbye for a moment, and then turned to get back to her arduous clothing selection.

Suddenly, the screen door slid open and her grandfather popped his head in. "Rei! What is all that racket? Is someone in here with you?"

"Sorry, Grandpa," Rei said, forcing a smile. "Just a pest I'm having trouble getting rid of." She turned and added, "A small, furry pest with a crescent moon bald-spot."

Luna straightened her tail, glared, and then stalked off in an effort to preserve her dignity.

Rei smirked. "I think that did it."

Her grandfather sighed, "Drop them on their heads once, and they're ruined for life."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just go back to your... whatever it was you were doing."

-----

It was times like this that Senator Hino was glad he didn't have a family to worry about.

It had long since turned from Thursday to Friday, but Senator Hino still had not left his office. After the success of his speech earlier that day concerning the threat of the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen, he certainly couldn't allow tomorrow's speech to go on without referencing it. More to the point, he had to drive his position home, and be sure those victims of the tragedy at the hospital did not go unavenged. The so-called saviors of Tokyo had been the cause of it after all. They needed to be dealt with accordingly.

"Sightings of these so-called saviors have been reported for nearly a month now," Senator Hino recited, pacing back and forth across his office. He tore a hand through his dirty and wild hair and took a moment to yank his tie loose. "And what good have they done us? The city is losing money trying to fix all of the damage they have caused, and we can hardly keep up with them as their destructive rampage continues. People have been injured. People have been killed. And all because three people have been given powers beyond their understanding and control.

"I am not saying I would do better in their position, but they must not be allowed to continue down this path!" Senator Hino paused, repeating the same sentence over and over again with varying gestures until he had found the right one. "They must be captured and brought to justice. They must be apprehended by any amount of force necessary.

"If they cannot be stopped without aid of a bullet, so be it."

Senator Hino stopped and stared at the papers in his hand. He looked at them with such intensity that he wouldn't have been the slightest bit surprised if they caught fire between his fingers. He started trembling, the papers flapping in the air and the words becoming little more than grey blurs. His jaw clenched, his back stiffened, and the vein on his neck began to bulge.

Finally, he threw the papers into the wastebasket with a cry, but that wasn't enough. He kicked over the can, sending it flying across the room and impacting with the wall. He hit the walls, kicked his desk, and tore a pillow on his couch apart so that it sent a thick fog of feathers into the air. But that still wasn't enough.

"It has to be perfect!" Senator Hino raged. "It has to be the best speech any senator in Japan has ever given." He continued destroying his office, smashing glasses and bottles of alcohol against any hard surface he could find. Once those were gone, he flung himself back over to his desk, leaning all of his weight upon it. He breathed hard and trembled with energy, but he did not feel tired. In fact, he couldn't remember ever feeling more awake in his life.

He looked up from his desk and started whispering although he was talking to no one and had no one to hide his thoughts from. "I have to rally the people behind me. If I gain enough support, my reelection will be all but guaranteed. I could stay in office for the rest of my life. I could be found in any scandal, any corrupt political structure, and still the people would stand behind me because I was the man who saved them from those three witches!"

His eyes widened as he began to realize just how much farther this could go. "And from there, I could continue to advance. I could keep climbing in office, higher and higher until I reached the office of Prime Minister." He stopped and started laughing. "They would even call for me to be emperor. I'd bring back the power to that office and make it more than just a symbol of the state." He wheezed, his shoulders shaking he was laughing so hard. "I would be ruler of all Japan!"

Senator Hino found himself getting absolutely intoxicated on the possibility. He started laughing even louder, perhaps more so than any other moment in his life.  
He clutched his stomach as his knees buckled, slipping to the ground. It all seemed so perfect, so simple. Nothing could possibly stop this miraculous assent.

Except perhaps this speech.

Bearing that in mind, Senator Hino dragged himself to his feet, preparing to return to his writing tablet. But before he did so, he looked out his window at the city before him.

"Juuban will be my district," Senator Hino whispered to the night. " Tokyo, my city. Japan, my country. All of this will be mine."

He held out his arms almost as if he expected some divine light to shine down on him from the heavens. He tipped his head back and inhaled the scent of his own ambition mixed with that of spilt alcohol and sweat. Feathers from the down pillow swirled around him, and he could almost picture the music swelling in the movie they would make about his life. This would be the climax, the turning point, right before so much power rightfully fell into his hands.

And all the while, the stars looked down on him and laughed.

-----

Ami was by no means a late sleeper, but even she saw reason enough to know that seven AM on a day when she had no school was entirely too early for her to be up. But that day, she had no choice in the matter. She was awoken by the sound of crashing and banging, along with a few well-placed curses.

Ami groaned. "Mama, keep it down," she mumbled. She rolled over and pulled the pillow up over her ears to try and block out the noise. "It sounds like--"

She stopped, her eyes flying open. She sat up straight in bed, her heart pounding in her chest. She started to panic because it sounded as if her mother was not alone in the house.

Ami grabbed her henshin pen out of the top drawer of her nightstand and ran out to go confront whatever enemy had found its way into her home. She wondered if she'd been found out and they were planning on using her mother to get to her. Or perhaps it was some random coincidence that a youma had just happened to find its way into her home on the top floor of a building with more security than many of Ami's favorite museums.

Ami ran faster, tearing around the corner and nearly slipping on the hallway rug. She followed the sounds into the kitchen and flung herself forward, preparing to do battle with whatever had dared to threaten her family.

"Mama, are you--" Ami stopped herself when she got a good look at the scene before her.

It seemed her enemy was the rack of pots and pans that Dr. Mizuno had managed to scatter all over the floor.

Ami's shoulders sagged in relief, although she couldn't help but be a little exasperated. "Mama, you practically gave me a heart attack," Ami confessed,  
clutching her chest just to drive the point home. "What happened in here?"

Dr. Mizuno looked up as she busily tried to load all of the kitchenware back onto the rack. "Sorry I woke you, Ami." She sighed and quickly gave up, stepping over the fallen pots and going about her business with making herself some toast. "It's just that I've had two cups of coffee already, and you know how one makes me. I can barely keep my hands steady."

Ami frowned as she took stock of her mother's attire. The normally pristine woman did not look as well put together as usual. Her hair was still askew, though it was obvious she had tried to comb it into place several times now. Her skirt was twisted with only half of her blouse tucked in. Ami also noticed that her mother had her stockings thrown over her shoulder to be dealt with later. Ami couldn't recall ever having seen her mother so frazzled.

"Why are you up this early? I thought you were on nights," Ami said, covering her mouth with her hand. It was at that moment that she realized she was still holding her henshin pen, and she quickly thrust it behind her back. Suddenly, she was grateful that her mother wasn't as observant as usual.

Dr. Mizuno laughed bitterly. "Yes, Ami, I am on nights. That is precisely what I tried to explain to him when he called." The bread popped out of the toaster piping hot, but Dr. Mizuno was in enough of a hurry to grab it right out of the machine, burning her fingers. She flung it onto the plate and groaned when she realized she'd managed to blacken it. "I can't even work a toaster correctly."

Ami glanced up at her mother fretfully. "Mama, are you sure--"

"Oh, right, what I'm doing up," Dr. Mizuno interrupted. "Well, the new children's wing at the hospital is opening today. I'm not sure if I'd mentioned that."

Ami thought back to Rei's argument with her father that was about that very same subject. She glanced down and said, "I heard about it from a friend."

"Well," Dr. Mizuno continued, apparently not hearing Ami's response. "Long story short, the head of the Board of Trustees - the man who is supposed to be in charge of publicity and presenting Senator Hino before he makes his speech - has gotten the flu. And he has insisted that I take care of the event in his stead."

Ami blinked. "What? But that doesn't make any sense. He should pick someone on the Medical Review Board." Ami blushed when she saw her mother stiffen. "I mean, everyone knows you'll be elected to the board soon, but most of the members still think you're too young. It's going to cause animosity between--"

"Also what I tried to tell him," Dr. Mizuno interrupted, nodding her head. "But he wouldn't listen to reason. He maintains that I am the only person to do this regardless of my age, position, and the amount of sleep I have had. Which is three hours." She paused, practically growling. "Honestly, I turn down one date--"

"What?" Ami asked, her neck burning. "He... He asked you out?"

Dr. Mizuno looked up at Ami awkwardly, like a child that had been caught in a lie. Ami found people always looked like that when they accidentally told the truth. Her mother cleared her throat and said, "I'm sorry for waking you, Ami. You should try and get some sleep. I'll be out of here in a few minutes." She glanced down at her breakfast. "Just as soon as I eat my slab of charcoal."

Ami looked at her mother, hurt that she wasn't willing to talk about her personal life with her own daughter. Granted, Ami had never felt compelled to talk to her mother about what boys she thought were attractive or what teachers she admired perhaps a bit too much. But Dr. Mizuno had accidentally revealed that information to Ami and then refused to elaborate on it. It made Ami feel like a stranger to that part of her mother's life. She wondered if her mother wanted to go on dates, or if she had been going on them all along and hiding it from Ami by claiming to work overtime. Had she been doing it because she feared how Ami would react to her moving on from her father? Or did she simply want to pretend that she didn't have a daughter to make her dating life easier?

Ami felt very much like going back to her room when her fingers tightened around the henshin pen, still cool in her hand. She'd almost forgotten it was there.

She realized that she was keeping important secrets from her mother as well. If Dr. Mizuno were to ever discover Ami's life as Sailor Mercury, she would be devastated. She would think it was her business that Ami was going out and putting herself directly into harm's way. She might even be angry about the damage that had been done to the hospital even though they had been trying to help people, not hurt them.

Sailor Mercury was an important part of Ami's life that had to be kept secret from everyone, including her mother. Maybe Dr. Mizuno's personal life wasn't on the same level as Ami's secret, but suddenly Ami found she couldn't blame her mother for keeping things from her. In the end, Ami supposed that everyone was allowed their secrets.

Besides, the most important thing about their relationship had always been out in the open. They loved each other unconditionally, even if they had secret boyfriends or secret identities.

"Why don't you go rinse your hair with water, Mama," Ami suggested, walking into the kitchen. "Then maybe you can make it do what you want. I'll make you toast with strawberry jam just how you like it. Then I'll get dressed and come with you to the opening."

Dr. Mizuno raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to come, Ami? It's probably going to be very boring."

Ami shook her head and moved forward, surreptitiously hiding her henshin pen behind the knife rack. "I'm sure. My friend Rei might be there, and she'll need the company."

Dr. Mizuno soured. "What's she going to be doing there?"

"Her father's the one giving the speech."

Her mother looked confused. "I thought you said she lived at a Shinto shrine with her grandfather."

"She does," Ami said distastefully.

"But then why doesn't-- Oh, nevermind. I have to get ready." Dr. Mizuno leaned down and kissed Ami on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Ami."

"You're welcome," Ami told her mother's retreating back. After looking after her for a moment, Ami turned to take care of the kitchen, throwing away her mother's burned breakfast and loading all of the pans and such onto the counters for the time being.

After putting some bread in the toaster and starting a batch of chamomile to counteract all of the caffeine her mother had had, Ami walked back over to where she'd momentarily hidden her henshin pen. She pulled it out and held it up in the light, watching it glitter. For some reason, she wondered if Rei did this sometimes, fascinated by the magic she possessed, or if she was still seeing her position as a burden.

Suddenly, Ami thought of how hard it must be for Rei to feel that only one person in the whole world truly loved her. Her grandfather had stuck by her, taken her in when her father made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with her. And then she had been told that her grandfather could no longer be the most important person in her life. She had to devote herself to a phantom princess and a mass of people who would never know her name. She had to fight alongside two people who had not been sympathetic to that, who had been concerned only with the mission and not her own feelings.

Ami wasn't so sure she was the only victim in their feud.

-----

Rei was not in a good mood.

As if it wasn't bad enough that she had to be dragged to participate in this charade, her father had once again proven that he was not to be depended on. He had sent word the day before that he was going to send his car to Hikawa Jinja to pick her up because he didn't trust her to make it there on her own. She hadn't been happy to hear that part of it, but a part of her was happy about the decision. It meant she wouldn't have to deal with public transportation, which was always a plus.

That morning, at exactly five minutes to eight, she had ventured outside to wait for the car to come around to pick her up. And at exactly fifteen minutes past eight, she'd given up on anyone coming for her and gotten on the Number 66 bus to the hospital, where she had been forced to beat a nine-year-old upside the head with her purse when he tried to look up her skirt.

Now she was walking into the newly designated children's wing in the one hospital she would have liked to never see again to be with the man who didn't seem to want to see her.

"Why did I ever let myself get talked into this?" Rei muttered to herself. She sighed and looked around for a familiar face. Thus far, all she saw were camera crews and reporters setting up their equipment for the event.

"I told you I don't need any coffee!"

Rei frowned. "And there he is." She shook her head, marvelling at the fact that her father was losing his temper over something so frivolous. She had never had a conversation with him that didn't end in an argument, but she had hoped that was something he reserved exclusively for her. She hadn't accompanied him to an event like this for some time, and she had generally spent her time sulking or hiding behind her grandfather, depending on how old she was.

Rei pushed her way past yet another camera crew, tossing back a withering glare when she heard one of them whistle as she walked by. After a few moments, she saw her father yelling at someone, though it wasn't anyone Rei had ever seen before. He did not look that much older than her with dark hair and a clear need for braces. He also did not look like he was used to dealing with a temperamental politician.

"Amateurs," Rei muttered.

"I know you said that, Senator Hino," the stranger said, his voice trembling only a little, for which Rei had to give him some credit. "But said you haven't slept in over forty-eight hours, and I just thought--"

"If I wanted you to think, I would have asked you to!" Senator Hino snapped.

Rei rolled her eyes. "Oh, for pity's sake."

"All right, no coffee," the man said, relenting. "But I wish you'd let me get you something to eat, sir. You're looking quite pale."

Senator Hino scoffed. "The woman who does my make-up for conferences will make sure that I am not pale."

The stranger cleared his throat. "Yes, well. I'm sure she would have been happy to do that... only she quit an hour ago."

"She what?!"

"You did make her cry, sir."

Senator Hino slammed his fist on the podium, making even Rei jump. He then picked up a clipboard from the podium and started hitting it against the wood, punctuating every other word or so with a bang. "Have I hired nothing but spineless idiots who do nothing but... lecture me, cry, offer me useless things, and fail to do their jobs?"

With the last, Senator Hino flung the clipboard at his helper like a deadly, rectangular frisbee. The assistant seemed to be too shocked to react. Rei dropped her purse and ran forward, thankful that she'd had some practice running in much higher and more painful heels. She reached out just in time to snatch the clipboard out of the air, wincing as it impacted with her palm.

Rei looked up at her father and said, "Do you make it a habit of throwing things at people like a petulant child?"

Senator Hino scowled at her. "You're late."

"Oh, you noticed that," Rei drawled. "Yes, well it would have helped if you sent your driver this morning like you promised."

"I fired my driver yesterday!" Senator Hino bellowed.

Rei frowned. "You fired Mr. Sakamoto? But he's been working for you since I was a baby. What did he do?"

"He didn't pump the gas fast enough," the assistant muttered behind her.

Rei's eyes widened. "He didn't pump the..." She narrowed her eyes and felt her cheeks color with anger. She hadn't been there for five minutes, and already she wanted to hit him. "How can you just--"

"I need to go over my speech some more," Senator Hino interrupted. "Stay out of my way." He left without another word, disappearing where Rei very much doubted she wanted to follow.

Rei clenched her fists and eyes shut, trembling with anger. Of course, he never treated Rei with any shred of respect, but that didn't make the situation better. He had just dismissed her as if she was one of his bungling assistants, not like his only daughter. It was enough to make her want to hit something.

"Ms. Hino?"

"What?" Rei snapped, wielding the clipboard like a weapon. When she turned to see that the young assistant had been the one to address her, she immediately dialed her anger back as much as possible. She sighed and handed the clipboard to him. "I'm sorry. That was rude."

He shook his head although it was quite clear he agreed with her assessment. "No, it's all right. If you'll allow me to introduce myself, my name is Masuo Jun."

"I'm very pleased to meet you," Rei recited politely, bowing with him. She straightened and said, "I was under the impression that my father's staff hadn't changed that much since the last time I had to do this, but I haven't seen you before."

Jun laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, technically I'm just an intern. I was assisting the assistant... except she failed to show up this morning. Along with just about everyone else."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "That's odd. I was always told they were very loyal." She hesitated. "Of course, I was told that by my father, so it's possible his opinion was skewed."

"No, they are loyal," Jun insisted. "It's just... Well, I think Senator Hino is under a lot of stress."

Rei scoffed. "Stress? Please. It's not an election year. What does he have to be stressed about?"

"His campaign against Tuxedo Kamen and the Sailor Senshi for one thing."

Rei felt all of the blood drain from her face. Her head felt weightless, as if it could float away from her at any moment. "His what?"

"Didn't you hear?" Jun asked. Then he looked embarrassed and corrected himself. "I forgot. My boss had mentioned that you and your grandfather don't watch television much."

"We're busy," Rei said defensively.

"Of course," Jun said awkwardly, bowing a bit. "Anyway, yesterday he held an impromptu press conference saying that the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen need to be held accountable."

Rei's jaw tightened. "Accountable for what? Saving Tokyo on at least five occasions?"

"For the deaths of the people at this hospital and--"

"That wasn't their fault!" Rei shouted, effectively silencing Jun in a second. "They showed up to try and stop anything like that from happening. They tried to get here as quickly as possible, but it's not like they can fly."

Jun looked puzzled. "How do you know that?"

"Because they would have gotten here a lot sooner if they could!" Rei snapped. She bristled and turned back to where her father had gone. "He thinks he can just lay blame on them because they're not involved with the government. The government can't handle what's happening to Tokyo! He's just bitter about it. So he has to take down the Senshi the only way he knows how: politically. The coward's way." She shook her head. "I ought to tell him exactly what I think of his new platform..."

And she would preferably be wearing a red miniskirt and a tiara at the time.

Jun cleared his throat. "That's probably not the best idea right now, Ms. Hino. As I'm sure you can tell, he's been acting... strange."

"Has he?" Rei asked, laughing bitterly. "I hadn't noticed."

Jun didn't seem to know how to respond to that. After a moment, she heard him shuffle away. "Here's your purse, Ms. Hino."

"Thank you," Rei said, reaching back to grab it. "As long as the senator isn't sending you on an errand, I don't suppose I could ask you to get me something to eat."

Jun nodded and bowed a bit. "Certainly. I'll be back in a few minutes."

After Jun had left her alone, Rei dug through her purse and pulled out her red henshin pen, which as always, felt warm in her hands. She watched how it caught the light for a moment, thinking about that day at the hospital. People had been killed, but that wasn't their fault. It wasn't her fault. She was the one who was trying to fix the problem. Jadeite was the one who caused it.

Rei winced at the thought of Jadeite for it always brought forth the image of him staggering out of the alley surrounded by fire, screaming in agony.

"I fixed it," Rei murmured. "And he still blames me."

She closed her eyes and put the pen back into her purse. As much as she would have liked to transform into Sailor Mars and make her father see reason, she knew she couldn't. After all, there were some things heroes couldn't fix.

-----

Usagi yawned as she dragged herself downstairs still dressed in her pajamas. She rubbed her puffy eyes with the back of her hand and continued her procession into the kitchen without any joy. But then how could she be happy when her mother had dragged her out of bed at such an ungodly hour?

"It's 9:00 AM, Usagi," Ikuko scolded when Usagi voiced this opinion to her. "It's not like I made you get up at 6:00 like I usually do."

"I just wanted five more minutes," Usagi whined as she sank into her chair.

Ikuko laughed. "Usagi, yesterday your five minutes was more like three hours. You slept until noon, and even then, you only woke up when Naru said she wanted to go shopping."

"But it's vacation!" Usagi insisted. "I'm supposed to sleep until noon."

"No, you're not," Ikuko said definitively. "Tomorrow, I'll start letting you sleep in until 10:00 if you prove to me that you do something worthwhile with your day."

Usagi's ears perked up as Ikuko laid a plateful of blueberry pancakes in front of her. "Like helping you make cookies?"

Ikuko laughed again. "Usagi, your idea of helping me is still the same as when you were three. You get in the way, break things, and lick the spoons when I'm done with them."

"I'll help for real this time!" Usagi promised as she shoved a large bite of pancakes into her mouth.

"I don't think so," Ikuko answered.

Usagi frowned. "Well, then what should I do?"

"Read a book - that isn't a manga," Ikuko added after she saw Usagi's eyes light up.

Usagi stuck her lower lip out. "It's still a book. You're just prejudiced against it because it's more fun."

"Yes, of course that's it, Usagi," Ikuko answered. "Anyway, you could clean your room or exercise or--"

"None of that sounds very fun," Usagi said softly, stabbing at her blueberry pancakes sullenly.

Ikuko sighed. "The point of it, Usagi, is that you don't do something fun. You do something educational or helpful." She paused. "And whatever it is, be sure it doesn't take place in the living room at 11:00."

Usagi yawned again. "Why?"

"Senator Hino is having another press conference at that time," Ikuko answered. "And since you and your father wouldn't let me watch the one yesterday, I was hoping you'd be nice enough to let me watch it today."

Usagi frowned. "Why do you want to watch that anyway?"

Ikuko reached over and patted Usagi's head. "I know he upsets you, dear, but I've been surprised by the lack of acknowledgement about the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen by other politicians. I don't necessarily agree with Senator Hino's position, but at least he's talking about it. I'm hoping he'll provoke a response from cooler heads. That way, I know who to vote for when it's election time."

"I still wish you wouldn't watch it," Usagi muttered, pushing another bite of pancakes into her mouth. She chewed, had a thought, and swallowed. "Say, do you know where that conference is supposed to take place?"

Ikuko thought about it for a moment, tapping her spatula on her arm. "I think it's at that hospital that got attacked. He's opening a new children's wing there, but he's going to bring up the Senshi for certain."

Usagi nodded. "I see." She took a sip of her milk and said, "Well, I'd better finish up quickly."

Ikuko blinked. "What do you mean?"

Usagi looked up and smiled. "I figured out what good thing I'm going to do today."

-----

Mizuno Emi was not in the mood for this.

Normally, Emi was willing to sacrifice just about anything for the good of her patients and her work, but there were situations where she felt the line needed to be drawn. As far as she was concerned, she had been quite literally shoved over her line, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

She was not mentally or physically prepared to do this. The chamomile Ami had made her earlier had done little to combat the amount of caffeine in her system. She felt utterly exhausted and was quite sure that it showed on her face. Like most Asian women, she was quite pale, but there was quite a difference between a natural fairness and looking chalky as a result of fatigue. She was neither looking nor feeling her best, and had one of her patients come in and complained of such symptoms, she probably would have told them to go back to bed.

But as her ex-husband had always been quick to point out, Emi never followed her own advice.

"Dr. Mizuno?"

Emi turned at the sound of the vaguely familiar voice. It took her a moment to recognize Rei as the girl who had been out with Ami's... male friend days earlier.  
In Emi's opinion, she looked quite a bit nicer now that she wasn't trying so hard.

"Miss Hino," Emi greeted with as much warmth as she could muster, which wasn't much. She had no tolerance for those who made her little girl cry. Unfortunately, it had resulted in several frosty conversations. "Ami had mentioned you would be here."

"She did?" Rei asked, seeming surprised at the fact. She shook her head slightly and said, "I suppose it was only natural that she bring it up when she heard you were going to be introducing my father for his speech."

Emi nodded. "Yes, that is how the subject came up," she said, making it clear that she and Ami had no reason to discuss her otherwise.

Rei was a clever girl, and she took the hint. She clenched her jaw and seemed to get visibly agitated, although she did not lash out. "Have you had an opportunity to meet my father?"

"No, I haven't," Emi admitted, which she considered to be a shortcoming. She had tried to locate him, but from what she understood, he had been walking up and down the halls reciting his speech over and over again. He was acting almost as if this was a career defining moment, although it was far from being so. "Why? Is there something I should know?"

Rei looked puzzled for a moment. Then she seemed to get strangely quiet. She glanced away from Emi and whispered. "No. No, there's nothing at all you need to know about him."

Emi didn't miss the poorly concealed bitterness, and more importantly, sadness in Rei's tone. Others might have overlooked the latter half, but Emi recognized it instantly. After all, she'd had a similar experience.

Her thumb brushed against her left ring finger, and even though she knew it was bare before she moved, she felt a pang when she realized it once again.

She glanced out at Ami, who was taking a seat towards the front of the audience. Emi wondered if her daughter had similar feelings for the man Emi had once called husband. Emi had never thought to look for malice in Ami's heart. There seemed to be such profound sadness there already that there could scarcely be room for anything else. But had Emi overlooked that part of her daughter's character? Did she resent him for abandoning her? Was she bitter when she saw other daughters with their fathers? Did she hate or want to hate, and had Emi really missed that all this time?

Emi looked at her daughter, wondering at her capabilities when Rei cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Dr. Mizuno. My father is coming."

At the younger girl's words, Emi turned to see the senator coming towards her. She was surprised to find he had a similar pallor to her own, the drawn look of a man who had not slept well. Or perhaps at all. He seemed agitated, glaring at his assistant when the boy attempted to do his job by straightening his slightly cock-eyed necktie. Senator Hino continued stalking forward, not even giving his daughter so much as an acknowledgment in greeting.

"Good morning, Senator," Emi said, bowing. "Are you ready to begin?"

There was a strange twinkle in his eye that made Emi feel distinctly unsettled. His lips curved in a slight grin, and he answered, "I am more than prepared."

Emi nodded hastily, and then turned to walk out on the makeshift platform they had constructed for the event. She moved away from the two Hinos, both of whom seemed to radiate so much heat and power that she felt stifled. And yet when she thought of the look in the Senator's eye, so unlike anything she had ever seen before in another man, she could not help but shiver.

-----

Much to Usagi's surprise, Senator Hino's speech at the hospital was not open to the general public. She had gotten into quite an argument with the security guard, insisting that someone who's job was technically to serve the people ought to allow himself to associate with them from time to time. At that point, the guard had implied that she was not the sort of people the senator was concerned with, and that she would probably use her time more wisely by spending all of her father's money at a boutique several blocks over.

When Usagi had attempted to explain to him that she had done that the day before, she had been rudely led back to the street.

"Honestly, the nerve of people today," Usagi muttered to herself as she snuck around the corner, hiding behind the various bushes and keeping an eye out for the guard. "Practically yanking a pretty girl's arm off and tossing her out in the street as if she were... not a pretty girl."

What the guard had not realized of course was that Usagi was vitally important and just the sort of person Senator Hino did need to see. After all, she had decided that her good deed for the day was going to be to talk to the senator and make him realize his gross error in condemning the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen. She was certain that once she explained the facts to him - namely that the three of them were all very brave and that Tuxedo Kamen was far too handsome to be anything but an absolutely wonderful man - he would see reason. He would thank her for straightening him out, publicly congratulate her, and create a national holiday just for her wherein she would be exempt from all homework for the rest of her life and be outfitted with a dress made entirely out of diamonds and pearls. And of course there would be cake.

Usagi sighed dreamily. What she wouldn't give to be eating cake just then. She was still starving in spite of the fact that she must have had at least seven of Ikuko's pancakes before dashing off to reach the hospital.

She shook her head quickly. "Stop it, Usagi!" she ordered quietly. "You are on a mission, and you will not be distracted by thoughts of jewelry, cake, or Tuxedo Kamen." She nodded smartly and continued sneaking around to find an alternate way into the hospital.

It turned out that it wasn't nearly as difficult as she'd anticipated. There was an open window right on the first floor. She bounced up and down a moment, celebrating her luck. Then she hopped up to pull herself into the building, quite certain that once she was inside, she would have no trouble finding Senator Hino.

Unfortunately, Usagi had neglected to take her purse into account. It was slung over her shoulder so that it was usually out of her way. However, she hadn't positioned it so that it would be out of her way for climbing in through windows. She wound up getting the shoulder strap wrapped around her ankle as she climbed in. She immediately started flinging her arms about in an attempt to extract it, but it was in vain. Eventually, she plummeted forward into the hospital, landing rather painfully on her side.

"Ow," Usagi whined, rubbing her left arm. She glanced up at the window and glared. "Stupid thing." She then stuck her leg out and kicked it.

She had forgotten of course that the wall was made of concrete and her shoe was made of cloth and little else. The result was not a happy one.

"OW! Owowowowowow!" She clutched her now throbbing foot and rocked back and forth on the ground for a minute, waiting for the pain to subside.

"Stupid wall," she sniffed. Eventually, she dragged herself to her feet and looked around, wondering where Senator Hino might be.

She paused and thought she heard applause coming from somewhere nearby. It seemed she hadn't arrived before the speech as she'd been hoping, but perhaps she'd still be able to speak with the senator afterwards.

Usagi took a deep breath and pumped her fist into the air. "All right, Usagi! Operation: Save Future Husband is now underway!"

With that, Usagi triumphantly moved towards the noise, limping all the way.

-----

Meanwhile, at the back of the large crowd listening to Senator Hino, another very important observer waited.

Nephrite leaned against the wall, folding his arms in front of his chest as he watched the doctor finish introducing Senator Hino. He smirked, chuckling to himself when he got a good look at the man. He clearly hadn't slept in days, although he wasn't acting like it at all. Then again, he wasn't acting like anything one would consider normal at this point.

Nephrite raised an eyebrow when he saw that the Senator was followed on stage by a young girl he quickly recognized as the one pictured on his desk. He hadn't anticipated her presence, but it didn't seem to be a problem. Ironically, if anyone were going to be truly concerned about Hino Nibori's well being, Nephrite would have thought it would be her. However, she appeared to be far more interested in sulking than her father's mannerisms.

"Dedicated family life indeed," Nephrite chuckled to himself.

Nephrite sighed and checked his watch. If his calculations were correct (and he did not doubt that they were), the zenith would be reached in approximately five minutes, which meant he was going to have to stick around for awhile longer. He had been thankful for his caution concerning his attack on Sakurada Haruna when the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen had shown up. He couldn't very well afford to be lax after having proven the extra attention was necessary.

Still, he wished that he could be finished with his work so that he could return to the Dark Kingdom. He was in the mood for some good brandy.

"I'll drink to you, Senator Hino," he whispered darkly. "And to the help you've given us towards destroying you."

-----

"Now remember, you're just a cat," Mamoru cautioned, pausing just before pressing the doorbell to the Furuhata's home.

Luna scoffed, licking her paw in annoyance. "I am quite aware of how to act in front of the masses, Mamoru."

Mamoru frowned. It wasn't that he didn't trust Luna, but it was different with Motoki than other people. It was more important that he be kept out of it. He didn't want anything to put him in jeopardy, particularly after the incident in front of the Crown with Jadeite.

"Just humor me," Mamoru grumbled, pressing the doorbell.

After a few moments, the door opened a crack. Mamoru smiled when he recognized Unazaki's green eyes. "Hey, Unazaki. Can I come in?"

She nodded brightly, reaching over to undo the chain on the door. Mamoru didn't remember the Furuatas having such a thing before, but after what had happened with their son, he didn't blame them for their anxiety.

The Furuhatas had even gone so far as to make Motoki move back home, at least temporarily. When they had heard about the near tragedy, his mother had wanted to keep her children closer than before. Motoki had moved in without complaint, mostly because it gave him an excuse to not clean his apartment.

"Sure thing, Mamoru," Unazaki chirped, pulling open the door. "I didn't realize you were coming over."

"I called Motoki an hour ago," Mamoru said, laughing a bit when he realized his friend had probably forgotten he was even coming over. "I need one of his old textbooks for a class I'll be taking next term."

Unazaki shook her head. "What do you need to be stingy for?"

"I prefer the term economical," Mamoru said, entering the house. He stepped out of his shoes and slid on the guest slippers effortlessly, knowing exactly where they were from all the times Mrs. Furuhata had insisted on having him over to feed him. "Where is he?"

Unazaki leaned against the door, jerking her thumb in the direction of the living room. "Watching some press conference with Daddy. You know how he is."

Mamoru chuckled, knowing exactly what she meant. Motoki and Unazaki's father was what could only be described as a political enthusiast. He had always loved politics, though he was far too much like his son to be anything but a bystander. Still, he followed all of the happenings with the government like other men followed baseball. Mamoru didn't see much enjoyment in the hobby, but Mr. Furuhata seemed to enjoy it well enough.

"Thanks, Unazaki," Mamoru said, turning to leave.

"Hey, Mamoru," Unazaki called out. She smiled sheepishly and gestured to Luna, resting comfortably on his shoulder. "Do you think I could play with your kitty while you're talking to them?"

Mamoru smiled and turned to look at Luna. "Sound all right with you?"

Luna meowed and hopped off of Mamoru's shoulder, eagerly padding up to Unazaki. Mamoru wasn't that surprised that she was anxious for attention; he wasn't a particularly nurturing owner as it was. He exited the foyer, chuckling at the sound of Luna purring loudly.

Mamoru made his way to the living room, not the least bit surprised to find Mr. Furuhata leaning forward in his chair as close to the television as possible. He was surprised, however, to find that Motoki seemed fairly interested as well. Motoki usually despised watching such things, as his father had attempted to get him interested in politics for most of his young life. He was probably the only parent who felt a pang of disappointment knowing their child had decided to become a doctor.

"Forget I was coming?" Mamoru said by way of announcement.

Motoki glanced up, glaring. "I did not forget you were coming."

"He just forgot to mention it," Mr. Furuhata corrected, shaking his head knowingly. "Typical Motoki."

Motoki sighed. "Three seconds, and I'm already being ganged up on."

"What can I say?" Mr. Furuhata joked. "Mamoru is the son I never had."

Motoki folded his arms and looked sullen. "That's a fine way to treat your first born."

"I like to think so." Mr. Furuhata looked up at Mamoru, which also struck him as odd. Normally, he demanded silence during these press conferences. "So, what brings you to our humble abode, Mamoru?"

"This," Motoki said, tossing a textbook in Mamoru's general direction. Mamoru caught it without blinking, which Motoki paused at.

"What?" Mamoru asked.

"Since when did your reflexes get that good?"

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "I told you I played soccer in high school."

"That's with your feet. Totally different when it comes to your hands," Motoki remarked as if he were reciting some great personal truth.

Mamoru shook his head. "Whatever you say, Motoki." He would have liked to get going right away, but he was on fairly good terms with Motoki's family. He didn't want to do anything to offend them, so he stepped further into the room and took a seat with Motoki on the couch. "So what are you--"

Mamoru came to an abrupt stop. He blinked several times to make sure he was seeing things correctly, but after a moment, he couldn't deny it. Dr. Mizuno was on the screen, applauding and gesturing for another man to come forward.

"I know her," Mamoru remarked. He waited a minute and watched as a vaguely familiar man stepped up to the podium. He looked around for a minute and was rather surprised to see Rei there as well. "And I know her."

Mr. Furuhata squinted. "Ah, yes. Senator Hino's daughter." He looked over at Mamoru, shaking his head. Normally, the gesture would seem harmless, but there was a spark in the man's eye Mamoru remembered from the few political lectures he had sat through at the Furuhata's dinner table. It was nothing short of fanatical, and it had always made him a bit nervous. "Shame on you for not telling me about a political connection."

"Consider yourself disowned," Motoki whispered.

Mamoru laughed nervously. "I didn't know about it myself until recently. I thought Rei's parents were both dead. She lives with her grandfather at Hikawa Jinja."

Motoki raised an eyebrow. "How did you meet her then? You're not religious."

"Friend of a friend," Mamoru answered without pause.

Mr. Furuhata nodded. "Yes, not many people know about the reality of Senator Hino's family situation. He keeps it very much under wraps."

"How do you know about it then?" Motoki asked.

"I have connections," Mr. Furuhata said mysteriously.

Motoki rolled his eyes. "That's your answer for everything."

Mr. Furuhata waved his hand, ignoring his son. "At any rate, from what I understand, the mother died a few years ago. Apparently she had some sort of congenital heart defect that made her very weak. It was amazing she had a child at all, and it greatly shortened her life. After it happened, Senator Hino said that he was sending her to live with her grandfather because he didn't feel he could devote enough time to her well-being. But he only mentioned it once and it was more of an afterthought than an announcement, so many people are unaware."

Mamoru stared. He turned back to the screen, locking his eyes on Rei standing behind her father. She seemed to be consciously avoiding his shadow, though she made no pretense of looking as though she wanted to be there. She looked just as intimidating and angry as ever, and he could no longer blame her for that.

He felt guilty knowing such an intimate detail about Rei's life. Particularly since it was such a painful one. Knowing Rei, she must have thought Senator Hino had sent her to her grandfather because he blamed her for his wife's death. And perhaps that was somewhat true, although Mamoru hoped not. It completely explained her resentful attitude towards him, not to mention her unwillingness to get too close. It even explained why she had gone after Mamoru. He had proven himself to be a good man, which was more than she could say for Senator Hino. Maybe she wanted to hold on to it.

Mamoru closed his eyes, blaming himself for rejecting her even if it had been best for both of them. He wondered if he had been too harsh with her, although he wouldn't have considered that before. Rei seemed to crave sharp words and nasty looks. He hadn't thought twice about dishing out just as good as she'd given, but now that he knew about her parents, he regretted it.

He was also struck by the thought that if his parents were alive, he would hold on to them, even if they tried to throw him away.

"Mamoru?"

He looked up to see Motoki staring at him, looking worried. But then when wasn't he looking worried? "I'm fine," Mamoru said pre-emptively.

Motoki frowned. "You sure?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Mamoru wondered what he hated more: lying or the fact that he'd gotten so good at it.

Mr. Furuhata groaned, apparently having missed the exchange between Mamoru and his son. "Senator Hino, what has gotten in to you?"

"What is it?" Mamoru asked, feeling his stomach do a strange twist.

"I honestly don't know," the older man confessed, pushing a hand through his bright red hair. "Senator Hino has never been much of a reformer. He's great at backing other people's causes and getting other people to see his way, but in terms of innovation... He's too cautious for that."

Motoki looked over at the screen. "Is he getting daring?"

"More than daring," Mr. Furuhata scoffed. "He's getting stupid. He's opening the new children's wing at the hospital that was attacked, right? Well, instead of just soft-balling it like he should, he's making an issue out of it. Listen, he's standing up there indicting those... the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen."

Mamoru's stomach did another painful gymnastic move. "What's he saying?"

"He's blaming them for the damage done to the hospital among other things." Mr. Furuhata sat back in his seat, apparently disappointed with the politician. "The thing that gets me is that he held a surprise conference yesterday essentially saying the same thing. Granted, he's being quite a bit more passionate than yesterday." He paused, laughing mirthlessly. "And I thought he was over caffeinated then."

Mamoru was quite sure that his heart had joined in on the routine as well. He started to get that sick feeling that something horrible was about to happen,  
although it wasn't nearly as intense as it had been before. "So he's been acting... oddly?"

"More than oddly," Mr. Furuhata confessed. "There have been rumors going around that he's been capriciously firing his staff, even people who have been with him since the beginning of his career. Even the more volatile politicians don't do that, and Senator Hino has never behaved like this."

It was stupid to consider it, Mamoru knew. It was too coincidental. An attack at the same hospital on Rei's father with Ami's mother and Rei herself nearby? It was too pat. It was too perfect for the enemy and too horrible for them. It had to be his paranoia making him read into things too much. He shouldn't even dwell on the possibility.

That's what his logic told him. But Mamoru had been starting to think logic was grossly overrated.

"I have to go," Mamoru said suddenly, vaulting off the couch.

Motoki and his father sat up. "What?" Motoki asked. "But you just got here. We haven't even strong-armed you into staying for dinner."

"I can't," Mamoru said, rubbing the back of his neck. His hand came away wet. "I just remembered something I have to do."

Motoki raised an eyebrow. "You told me earlier you didn't have anything to do."

"I was wrong," Mamoru snapped. He shook his head, turning to go. "Sorry. I'll see you later, Motoki. Mr. Furuhata."

Mamoru heard Motoki call out after him, but he wasn't paying attention. He stomped back into the foyer, scooping Luna up in his arms quickly. "Sorry, Unazaki," he said quickly, getting back into his shoes. He jogged out the door with his foot crammed awkwardly into the left one and fumbling for his car keys.

"You look terrible," Luna said as he shut the door.

"We need to get to the hospital," Mamoru said, ignoring her. "I think Rei's father is in trouble."

-----

Rei watched her father step up to the microphone, unsure of what he was going to say and yet certain that she wasn't going to like it.

"Ladies and gentleman," Senator Hino began once the applause from the non-media spectators died down. "I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out here today. I know that it might have been painful for some of you to come back to this place, for even in this time of happiness we cannot help but be reminded of the tragedy that occurred on July 13th."

Rei dug her fingers into her bare arms, amazed at how he had managed to infuriate her in the first three sentences of his speech. It wasn't fair for him to be talking about that tragedy as he called it. He wasn't even there. To Rei, he sounded as though he were belittling their pain even as he pretended to sympathize with it. What did he know of their anguish? Of her anguish? He'd been sitting in his office well out of harm's way. It was insulting of him to try and empathize.

"This children's wing marks a new beginning for this hospital," Senator Hino continued, unabated by the death glare Rei was giving him from behind. "It will no doubt mark advancements in diseases our children often find themselves victims of. Leukemia, cancer." He paused. "Congenital heart disease."

Rei's eyes closed to stop the burning tide that seemed to leap to them immediately. How _dare_ he? How dare he use her mother's disease - his wife's disease as political leverage? He was profiting on her death and his daughter's grief, and it sickened her.

From that moment on, Rei decided to tune him out. As far as she was concerned, her father had hit a new low. He had never even mentioned anything pertaining to her mother up until that time, and the fact that he had chosen to do it in front of her was unforgivable. Coupled with the knowledge that he was going to use this appearance to shake the public's faith in the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen, it was all Rei could do not to shout or simply walk off right then.

Rei opened her eyes, determined not to see anyone catch her in the middle of grieving. Almost immediately, she caught sight of Ami, giving her a worried look from the front row. Rei turned away from her angrily, her cheeks growing hot.

As if being with her father wasn't bad enough. Apparently, she needed to be surrounded by all of her enemies at once. And to make matters worse, Ami was feeling sorry for her. She knew Rei didn't want to be there, she'd seen Rei get upset, and now she was pitying her.

But Ami didn't know anything, did she? She didn't know the significance of what Senator Hino had said. She probably didn't even know that he was dead set on destroying both of them and Mamoru as well. She probably just thought Rei was being unreasonable and selfish. The look of pity might not have been even meant for her. It was probably directed at her father. She'd seen other men give him such looks when they had gotten into fights in public. They felt sorry for him being saddled with such a petulant, disobedient daughter. But she was the one who had been saddled with a bad father. Not the other way around.

"We are rising out of the ashes of disaster, a phoenix to turn all our sorrow to dust," her father recited dramatically.

"I'd like to turn something to dust," Rei bristled, fidgeting in her spot.

Thankfully, no one heard. "But just because we are rebuilding does not mean we should allow the past to be forgotten. Far from it. This new wing will serve as a memorial for what we have lost as well as a promise for the future.

"But we also deserve retribution for what has been done to us."

Rei's shoulders sagged. Here it was.

"For the past few weeks, sightings of three mysterious beings have been cropping up all over the Juuban area. These people - Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars led by Tuxedo Kamen--"

"Led by?" Rei growled quietly, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye.

"--have been heralded as superheroes," Senator Hino continued. "But I say to you that they are not superheroes or heroes of any kind. They are menaces to our way of life. Witches endowed with inhuman powers. Children in possession of forces far beyond their control. They claim to fight for our well being and to protect us from the enemy. But I say to you that they are not fighting an enemy. They are the enemy."

Rei's left eyebrow started twitching. This was beyond ridiculous. He had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He wasn't even involved in this mess, and yet he had taken it upon himself to be the spokesman against her and the others. It wasn't right, but above all, it wasn't fair.

"These supposed soldiers of justice must be stopped!" Senator Hino shouted, gesturing wildly. "They must be found and captured, kept under surveillance. If at all possible, their powers should be removed so that one day, after rehabilitation, they can be returned to society."

Rei spared Ami a glance at that. Unsurprisingly, the girl looked exactly how Rei felt: physically ill.

"They are menaces to us all!" Senator Hino railed on. "They are no better than common criminals - no better than the Yakuza!"

Rei's back straightened. He was bringing the Japanese mafia into this? Had he lost his mind? Even Rei knew that so much as mentioning the syndicate could result in a death sentence. Or becoming Yakuza themselves.

"They must be stopped at all costs!" Senator Hino raged, spitting and looking crazed. "If I have to take them down with my bare hands, I'll do it! But I will not let this stand!"

At that moment, Rei felt her knees buckle.

She gasped, clutching her forehead and forcing herself to stay upright. She broke out in a cold sweat, her bangs already starting to cling to her forehead. She felt as though her throat was closing up, and she had to fight to keep down the food that Jun had brought her earlier.

It didn't take her long to realize that she had felt this way before. Just the week before as a matter of fact. When Sakurada Haruna's car had turned into a youma.

All at once, things started to click. Her father had been firing people without justification, even people that he had practically been friends with. He had been irrationally violent. He was obsessed with this Sailor Senshi issue when no one else was discussing it. He had never spearheaded a movement. Why hadn't she noticed all of this before?

But then she knew the answer to that. She'd wanted to see the worst in him, when in fact, she hadn't been seeing him at all.

Rei quickly looked out at the crowd, her gaze flitting back and forth. She was searching for one face in particular. That would confirm the sick feeling in her stomach, and then she could set about proving her father wrong by saving his hide.

After a moment, she saw him. Long auburn hair and a dark smirk on a man lazily skulking about in the shadows. He was watching Senator Hino with interest, though he didn't appear to be at all scandalized, which even the more jaded of the reporters felt at that point. It was him: Jadeite's replacement, Nephrite.

"I am surrounded," Rei whispered fearfully.

-----

Nephrite chuckled to himself. It was almost time.

Things were going along unbelievably smoothly. The Sailor Senshi and their caped friend were nowhere in sight. In fact, the only latecomer was a young, limping blonde who probably would not have proven formidable against an insect. In just a few moments, the senator's energy would climax and the youma would appear. Then he could leave with what had been collected and leave it alone to do whatever damage it pleased.

"I will not allow myself to feel unsafe in my own city!" Senator Hino yelled, moving so forcefully that his slicked back hair had gone a bit wild, his bangs hanging in his eyes. "We must pull together so that we can rise above these demons! We must make them pay for bringing such chaos down on us! WE MUST DESTROY THEM!"

Nephrite found himself chuckling at the sounds of protests, gasps, and even a few quiet murmurs of agreement. He had never expected this to be a side-effect of his selecting Senator Hino, but he wasn't about to complain. Apparently, the senator had harbored these feelings for some time, but the spell on his eyeglasses had brought it out of him. It made Nephrite wish that he had thought of it before. Turning the people against the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen would have made the takeover a less bloody affair.

Then again, he doubted Queen Beryl would like it that way.

"Still, I enjoy seeing these people cheer at their saviors' deaths," Nephrite murmured, smiling to himself.

He once again checked his watch, perhaps a bit impulsively. They were moving closer to the deadline. Just a little while longer and then he would triumph...

If nothing interfered. And it seemed that something was about to try.

He stood up straight when he saw the daughter start to move to her father. Nephrite had noticed she nearly collapsed at one point, but he'd paid it no mind. However, now he couldn't ignore her. If she distracted him from his goal, his energy would not reach its peak, and the whole operation would be proven a failure.

He bared his teeth and moved forward. There was no way in hell he was going to see this all crash and burn when he was so close to winning. He would not end up like Jadeite.

He was going to live.

-----

Ami had been disgusted by the speech up until that point, but as she would soon learn, she hadn't seen the worst of it.

Ami had seen Rei stagger, which worried her. After all, the last time she'd seen Rei do anything similar, a teacher at her school had been assaulted. She'd been rather tempted to go to the girl's side to see what was wrong - in fact, she had started to get out of her seat. However, she'd thought better of it when she realized that Rei probably didn't want anyone's help, least of all hers.

It then became a matter of watching Rei watching - well, looking at any rate. Ami saw her violet eyes scanning the crowd, seeking something out in particular. Rude as it was, Ami couldn't help but follow Rei's gaze, trying to determine what she was looking for.

The crowd was too thick for Ami to see much of it, but she did happen to have a fairly clear shot of a side hallway. That's when she saw Usagi, leaning forward and standing on tiptoe to try and get a good look at the senator. She seemed to be hopping around a bit, anxiously living up to her namesake.

Ami furrowed her brow. "What is she doing here?"

"What are you doing?"

Ami turned around, catching snatches of conversation but never really latching on to any of them. Those words and even Usagi was forgotten when she saw Rei hanging on her father's arm, apparently trying to lead him away from the microphone.

At first, Ami thought perhaps Rei had gotten tired of hearing of the politician's nonsense and was trying to remove him before he spouted off anymore. But, no, that couldn't be it. Even if Rei couldn't hold her peace until the end of the speech, she certainly wouldn't try to drag him off. If anything, she'd turn the monologue into a debate.

"I need to talk to you," Ami heard Rei hiss, paying no mind to the reporters and cameramen whispering frantically to one another about this development. It would certainly be great story fodder for the next issue.

Senator Hino darkened because of course he couldn't forget about all of those people watching this display. "How dare you--"

"One word about disrespecting you, and so help me--" Rei started. She shook her head rapidly and amended her words, realizing that they likely wouldn't have an effect on her father. "Please, it's important that you leave. Now."

Her father looked at her for a moment, perhaps not comprehending. Then he turned his face away, and Ami could see the veins bulging on his neck. "Even my own daughter..."

For a moment, it almost looked as if he had been quieted. But all at once, the senator literally pushed Rei off him, throwing her towards the edge of the stage.  
She hadn't been prepared for it, and so she went flying back, her heels hitting the curve at the last moment. She tried to regain her balance, twirling her arms and throwing her weight forward, but the momentum of the toss was too much to overcome. In the end, Rei started to pitch backwards.

"Rei!" Ami called, rushing forward as the other girl toppled off.

"Even my own daughter!" Senator Hino raged, turning as red as Mars's high heels. His voice bellowed into the microphone and got redirected out the sound system. It was so loud that they crackled and squealed in protest, making Ami's ears ache.

Ami just barely reached Rei before she hit the ground and grabbed her at the elbows, not particularly caring if she was offended by the maneuver. She steadied the other girl, letting go as soon as she was settled again. She wasn't stupid after all. "Rei, what--"

"It's Nephrite," Rei growled, sounding positively feral. "He's after my father."

Ami's eyes widened in panic and then went right for the senator. He was towering above the two of them, looking crazed. For the first time, she realized the look in his eyes wasn't political fervor: he was possessed. And by the looks of it, he didn't have too long until he was completely taken over.

"What do we do?" Ami hissed, backing up with Rei at her side. She didn't know if proximity was dangerous in terms of Nephrite's curse going off, but anyone could see that it was not a good idea to be so near the senator in his current state.

Ami kept her eyes on Rei's father, worried that he would lunge and attack in front of all these people. Thankfully, he held his ground, though she could tell it was taking a considerable amount of effort on his part. She wondered if it was because he wanted to keep up appearances, or if a distant, saner part of himself was holding his body there. Whatever the case, she was glad of it, particularly when he began to speak.

"I have been disappointed by my colleagues, by my staff, even by people I considered friends," Senator Hino snarled at the girls, spitting. "But I won't accept this from my daughter."

Ami watched as Rei's gaze drifted down from her father's eyes, centering on the gold wire glasses settled around his neck. She seemed to focus on them intently for a moment, dark eyes narrowed in concentration. Then a realization seemed to dawn, and her shoulders drooped underneath its weight. "We're too late."

Ami's heart sank. She looked back up at the senator, a victim for perhaps the first time in his life. Interestingly, while the fury was still there, evident in his posture and every other aspect of himself, Ami saw something else behind all of that. It was hidden well; she probably never would have seen it if she didn't recognize the look from her dealings with his daughter. He seemed like a man betrayed, and a man saddened by that betrayal, not because of the principal of the thing, but because someone he had trusted had hurt him. Perhaps someone he even cared about, even if it was only a little bit.

Ami understood everything so clearly when Senator Hino's voice echoed once again through the room, sending ice into her blood.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER!"

-----

She wasn't supposed to care this much.

Rei kept her eyes on the glasses she had seen her father wear since before they lived apart. She watched as they flashed with red shadow light, casting a dark glow around the room. No one had to tell everyone else in the room what was happening; reports on the Haruna Sakurada incident had been extremely detailed. A hundred screams rose together as one while the glass in his precious glasses cracked. Something like smoke spilled from the lines, twisting into one large mass and rising far above Senator Hino's formidable frame. It smiled.

Rei screamed louder than anyone when it swooped down and devoured her father.

Ami's hands wound their way around her elbows again. At first, Rei thought she was just trying to comfort her, which meant that Rei had to be grateful and angry at the same time. Then Ami started to pull her back, and Rei could just be angry. She was relieved it was so simple.

"We're going," Ami hissed in her ear, her voice remarkably and unforgivably steady.

"No!" Rei shouted, pulling against Ami's surprisingly strong grip. Part of her chastised herself for acting so childishly. This was a man who probably would have turned tail and ran if she were in his position. She had no business staying there with him when he would have abandoned her all over again just when she needed him the most. "I'm not leaving him!"

Ami continued to lead her out, but they couldn't get far with Rei resisting. The other girl let out a quick sigh, betraying her growing exasperation. "We're going to come back, Rei, but we can't do anything if we don't find someplace to transform. There are still cameras rolling, and there are too many people here."

Rei shook her head. She didn't care about being found out. Some things were more important than her privacy. She gave another great tug against Ami's hands and said, "He's my--"

"I know," Ami interrupted softly. It was so quiet and gentle that it had a far greater effect on her than her yelling would have done. Particularly since Rei would never have expected Ami to take that tone with her, all things considered. "That's why we have to go."

Rei paused, unsure of how to respond, and then turned back to the platform. She was met with a sickening sight even though it was not nearly as disturbing as a man trapped in fire or a madwoman murdering without cause or discrimination. Her father was falling away from the shadow, his slick blonde hair turned wild, his face startlingly grey.

That was probably the worst part of the scene. Try as she might not to compare the two, she could not deny the fact that at the moment, her father had the same pallor as her mother at the wake.

She closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to push the dual images of her mother lying in a coffin and her father lying on the floor out of her head. It didn't work, and she swallowed the bile that tried to fill her mouth. She started nodding before she could speak again. "Fine. Where do we go?"

"I'll lead you," Ami said, keeping a grip on Rei's arms. She was pulling her out as if she didn't trust her to finish the journey, fearing that she would turn back at the worst possible moment.

Rei resented the action even though she was probably reading too much into it. She pulled her arms away sharply, forcing herself straight. "I can walk."

Ami looked at her for a moment, her blue eyes hard. Rei wondered if they were going to get into a fight about this as well, proving Luna right at last. Rei would let the misstep pass if Ami didn't press the issue, but if she did, Rei was not going to back down from her position. And when that happened, she would happily turn back around and rush straight into battle, common sense be damned.

But that wasn't what happened at all. Instead, Ami just nodded, understanding. "Follow me."

With that, Rei wouldn't argue.

Ami led them to a side door Rei and apparently no one else had noticed before. It was laughably convenient, but she wasn't about to scoff at this bit of fortune. They went through one after the other, Rei closing the behind them. She watched impatiently as Ami fumbled through her purse, looking for something. She wanted to get going, but she knew that they weren't going anywhere until Ami was done with whatever it was she wished to do.

"I don't believe this," Rei raged, spinning around and kicking the closed door. She didn't worry about betraying their position. The screams outside were still more than loud enough to cover up the noise.

However, Ami didn't even flinch at the outburst. She kept rifling through her bag unhindered, getting a bit frustrated with her predicament but never allowing the irritation to reach her voice. "Rei, it's not your--"

"Yes, it is," Rei snapped, tearing her hands through her hair. She didn't want those empty assurances from Ami when they both knew they weren't true. Rei could have stopped this, but she'd failed. There was no getting around it. "I was standing next to him the whole time. I talked to him. I saw how he was. I should have known something was wrong, but I didn't because..."

Ami looked at her, expecting her to finish. One look at Rei's face and she knew better than to ask for her to finish. She just slowed for a minute, her eyebrows softening her face. "It's going to be all right."

Rei shook her head. She had about as much patience for Ami's baseless predictions as she did for the earlier assertions. "You don't--"

"Yes, I do," Ami insisted smoothly, finally pulling her computer out of her bag. She paused before getting to work, offering Rei a cautious smile. "I promise."

Rei stared at her, uncomprehending how Ami could possibly know how things would turn out. She wasn't a clairvoyant, but there she was, telling Rei of all people that she knew for certain that everything would be all right. It was not only ridiculous, it was insulting. She opened her mouth to tell Ami exactly what she thought of her words because Rei just couldn't stand for that kind of thing.

But she stopped at the last minute. It had taken her a few minutes, but she did eventually realize what Ami was really saying. It wasn't exactly a prediction. It was just Ami letting her know that in spite of all that had happened between them, she was going to be there. She would help Rei and her father, and she was going to make sure that nothing went wrong. She was really going to set their differences aside, even going as far as to ignore every time Rei attacked her.

Rei couldn't stop herself from being grateful, and at that moment she decided to give Ami some room to breathe. It was time to set her ill feelings aside and deal with the larger problems at hand. That morning, she would never have predicted feeling this way, but Rei's father was much more important than anything else.

"Call him," Rei whispered hoarsely, trying to stretch the muscles in her neck.

Ami nodded and moved her thumb to depress the correct button. Her eyes flicked down to the computer screen, her lips pressed together in a thin line. She even seemed to fidget a bit, perhaps worrying that Mamoru wouldn't be able to answer if he were in a position with other people around. Finally, after a moment that felt a lot more like an hour, there was a beep signaling that their call had been answered.

Ami didn't waste time with polite greetings. "Mamoru--"

"It's the hospital again, isn't it?" he asked, his voice coming through the speaker accompanied by a great deal of static. Rei knew that this had to mean he was already running to get to them.

Rei and Ami exchanged a glance, each beyond surprised to hear that bit of information. "How did you know?" Ami asked, her voice tentative.

"Hunch," he answered, although there was quite obviously a lot more to the story than just that.

Ami nodded, picking up on the fact that there wasn't time. "How long until you get here?"

Mamoru sighed, obviously upset. "I'm still fifteen minutes out."

"Damn it," Rei swore quietly, pacing in what little space they had. It wasn't the worst news she could have received, but it wasn't good either. "That could be too late."

Ami knew that Rei was right, but to her credit, she didn't say anything else on the matter. "We'll start without you then," she said swiftly.

Mamoru paused, his ridiculous tendency to put chivalry over common sense practically blinding Rei with frustration. "You sure?"

"No choice," Ami sighed regretfully, although Rei could tell she was a bit miffed as well. "See you in fifteen. Mercury out."

"Right. Over and out."

Ami closed the computer, and while it looked as though she wanted to take a second to collect herself, she didn't take it. She simply pulled her henshin pen out of her bag a second later. Apparently, that was much easier for her to find. "You ready?"

Rei didn't need a moment; Rei needed to act. So she nodded without hesitation,  
yanking her henshin pen out as well. Her fingers were curled tightly around the red metal, and though it should have felt cool, it was like fire in her hands, but Rei didn't mind the heat.

"You have no idea."

-----

Usagi couldn't believe this was happening again. She'd come here to talk to a man, not run away from another monster.

Well, not that she was running away. No matter how hard she tried to fight her way through the crowd, it wouldn't let her through. She'd been by the door the whole time, but somehow, that had made her situation worse. Now she was sandwiched between everyone trying to get out through the one obvious exit, and no amount of screaming was helping.

"Please let me through!" Usagi cried, tears moving down her face. "I'm not even supposed to be here!"

Usagi took a deep breath and turned around, wanting to see what was going on behind her even though she knew that she wouldn't like it. The shadow that had consumed the senator remained upright as he fell. After a moment it began to materialize. It was thin and made of wires all strung together to form its limbs. This was true of everything but its head, which resembled a glass disc, and it had only one large eye that she swore could see everything going on in the room at the same time.

After a moment, the monster wasn't alone. A strange man with dark hair appeared beside it, his hands shoved in his pockets. Usagi couldn't hear what they were saying over the shouts; then again, she doubted she would have been able to pay attention. She couldn't stop staring at the demon's mouth, gold like the rest of its body and always smiling. She shook and tried to squeeze between two people.

"Hold it right there!"

Usagi's head snapped to the right, not quite recognizing the voice, but the tone was familiar enough. In spite of all the danger she was in, she felt a smile spreading over her face. "The Sailor Senshi!"

Sailor Mercury and Mars stood at a door Usagi hadn't noticed until just then, and both of them looked ready for a fight. Mars in particular looked as though she would have liked nothing better than to roast the pair of them on a spit. Even though she was still terrified, she couldn't help but feel better knowing that they had come. It meant for certain that Senator Hino was wrong about them; he had said horrible things about them, but they hadn't hesitated to come to help him. They were as good as Usagi had always believed, and now everyone else was going to know it too.

But then her heart sank a little. Tuxedo Kamen wasn't there. Where was he? She hoped that he hadn't gotten hurt or had anything else bad happen to him. Of course, it was stupid of her to be upset because the people who were here to help her were short by one tall, dark, handsome ally, but she didn't care. She'd gone there on his behalf; the least he could have done was swooped in and carried her off already.

Usagi shook her head and started to study the other door. There was not a large crowd blocking that exit, but it was also a lot closer to the battle at hand. There were advantages and disadvantages to both of her options, and she was terrified of both of them.

"What should I do?" Usagi asked herself, looking towards the two Sailor Senshi as if they could tell her which course was the best.

"Give it back, Nephrite," Mars snarled, stalking forward in spite of the look Mercury sent her that clearly suggested holding back. Usagi was grateful the crowd was thinning so that she could finally hear.

He raised an eyebrow, looking rather amused at the prospect of her making demands. "Give what back?"

"His energy!" Mars snapped, her eyes flashing. "Do it now, or I will make you wish you were Jadeite."

Usagi had no idea what that meant, but it seemed to have an effect on him. Without so much as changing expression, Nephrite held his hand up, palm out, and fired off a shot of his magic. A sphere of light appeared, spiraling out of his flesh. It was much dimmer than she would have expected, but it still hurt to look at for very long. Still, dim or not, it was large enough to hit both Mars and Mercury at the same time. Moreover, it was dangerous enough to send them flying back and into the wall, their bodies bouncing off and tumbling to the ground.

Usagi cried out. Perhaps the attack should have advised her to stay put, but instead she moved forward, pushing through what few people had been unlucky enough to be stuck behind her. Her heart pounded and part of her wanted to turn and go back to the crowd. There was supposedly safety in numbers after all. But she knew she might not ever get out that way; there were too many people trying to move in the same direction. No one else was going through the door the Senshi had come through. It was her best shot at getting out of there alive, even if it did mean she had to be closer to the action than she would have liked.

And all Usagi really wanted anymore was to live.

Usagi glanced over at the man and the monster, waiting to see if one of them was about to suddenly lash out at her. At the moment, both seemed to be consumed with their accomplishment at hurting the Sailor Senshi. Nephrite smiled and turned to the youma, gesturing to the two. "You know what to do."

"Of course, Lord Nephrite," it said, its voice like twisting metal, making Usagi flinch.

That ended the transaction, and Nephrite moved to leave them. But before he really disappeared, he glanced over his shoulder and gave his enemies a little wave. He smirked while they glared, and then vanished without another word.

"Jerk," Usagi muttered.

Mars seemed to agree with her assessment, although her reaction was decidedly more violent. "No!" she shouted, pulling herself to her feet. She turned her gaze to the youma, her dark eyes crackling with rage. Usagi had seen her in action before, and while she had always been very passionate, she seemed much more so that day. Usagi had no idea why she was acting that way, but Usagi felt sorry for her even without that knowledge. She seemed to be in pain, and Usagi didn't like seeing her that way. Like her mother said, the Senshi had enough to be dealing with.

"I'll make you pay for this," Mars promised, her voice murderous. "Give it back."

Usagi winced as it laughed and continued to move forward, ducking behind a row of chairs when the youma seemed to look intently in her direction. She still felt sure that it knew she was there, that it could see her even though its view was obstructed. She tried to be rational and tell herself it was just paranoia, but that didn't stop her hands from shaking.

"If I give it back, I cease to exist," the youma told her, speaking an appalling rationale. "I have no intention of dying so easily."

"And I have no intention of letting you live," Mars growled, lifting up her hands and pushing her index fingers together. Usagi's eyebrows jumped when she saw a spark catch fire. "We do this the easy way or the painful way. Your pick."

The youma laughed again, and Usagi covered her ears. It felt like its fingers were raking against her brain, and the pain was increasing every time it opened its mouth. "I'll take door number three."

Usagi heard the sound of something creaking quickly followed by that of falling chairs. She looked up in time to the row of chairs before her own get thrown aside. She had no idea what was happening, but she still dove to the left, desperate to avoid what was coming towards her.

But she was too late.

She screamed when something cold and sharp wound around her bad leg and pulled her up into the air. Its grip was harsh, and it felt like something was digging into her, sinking into her flesh. She flailed as she was hung upside down, trying in vain to break away from whoever - or whatever - held her.

She looked down at her leg and saw a length of wire twisted around her ankle. She followed it back to where the monster was standing, realizing that it had managed to extend one of its limbs to grab onto her. She concluded with rising panic that it had probably been aiming for her neck and was hoping to use her as bait. She started screaming again, trying to pull herself up to get the thing off her leg.

"Let her go!" Mercury shouted above her shrieks. "She has nothing to do with this!"

It laughed again, and Usagi stopped what she was doing, practically clawing at her ears. "I think I'd much rather peel the flesh off her bones."

Panic threatened to overwhelm her. It felt a lot like drowning in a river that was quickly rising. There was something trying to drag her down, and even though she was fighting to get her head above water, she couldn't get away. She was going to die if she or somebody else didn't do something, and she had only come here to help others.

"No!" Usagi wailed, flinging her body around in terror. She couldn't help but think that if Tuxedo Kamen were there, she would already be safe and sound in his arms. She wanted him so badly that her chest physically ached, and that pain almost outweighed the one at her ankle. "Please, don't!"

"Put the girl down," Mars warned. She was a lot more in control than Mercury, but Usagi knew that her voice shook. "Unless you want to be melted down for something less annoying."

The monster shook its head, a quiet creak similar to the one she'd heard right before she had been attacked. Its one eye almost looked gleeful at this predicament, although that was becoming harder to tell for sure. Usagi's tears were practically blinding. "Actually, I like my plan better."

Usagi almost started panicking about that, but she soon had much more trouble to deal with. She cried out as the demon swung her around like a wrecking ball, the metal fingers straining awfully against her skin. After a few seconds, her body crashed into two others, and she didn't have to venture a guess to know who they were. The three of them went tumbling end over end until they all hit the stage Senator Hino's body was still lying on.

Usagi groaned and pushed herself up on her elbows slowly. Every inch of her body hurt now, but still, nothing was worse than her heart. She wanted Tuxedo Kamen there so badly it was practically debilitating. She was grateful for Sailors Mars and Mercury, but it wasn't the same. They had never personally saved her. She was just another innocent they had to rescue. Somehow, Usagi felt that this made a difference.

Finally, she realized she was lying on top of Mercury and started to move off. She sniffled loudly, searching for the other girl's eyes. Usagi took a breath and started, "Sorry, I--"

She was cut off as the youma yanked her back, making good on its promise not to leave her alone. She screamed and cast her arms out, trying to sink her fingernails into the ground. She had nothing to catch hold of, so she kept moving backwards with no opportunity to slow herself down.

Suddenly, Mercury flung herself forward and grabbed both of Usagi's wrists, and Usagi instantly felt guilty for ever thinking Mercury and Mars weren't trying hard enough. The move managed to impede the youma's progress, but it didn't even come close to stopping it. Mercury looked around frantically for something to serve as an anchor, but there was nothing stable near them. She looked back up at Usagi, blue eyes wide.

"Don't let go," Usagi sobbed, her fingers tightening their grip on Mercury's gloves. "Please don't let go."

"I won't," Mercury promised through clenched teeth. She tried pulling back and yelled back at the demon who was not relenting one bit. "I mean it! Let her go!"

Usagi felt a movement on her leg, and her breathing became quick and sharp. She had no idea what was coming, but she knew it was bad. It was like the horror movies Naru made her watch, when the music suddenly stopped and the dread wrapped around her chest like a tightening vice.

"I think not," the youma answered.

Usagi shrieked again as an unbelievable amount of pain coursed through her skin. She turned her head as far as she could to see individual shoots of metal pushing into her flesh. Blood bubbled up around the places where they had punctured, and Usagi's head swam. She didn't want this. She wanted to be rescued already.

"Where are you?" Usagi whimpered quietly. "Tuxedo Kamen!"

Mercury looked up at her, her mouth dropping open a bit. "What did you--"

Without warning, the shoots moved farther up her leg, scraping against her bone. It was worse than Usagi ever would have imagined, and she didn't care that she wailed like a little baby. Not even Shingo could blame her this time. She thrashed wildly when they moved again and nearly shook Mercury off, but the soldier held fast.

"Hold on to me!" Mercury shouted. She glanced around behind her, her voice breaking.  
"Mars, where are you?"

"Right here," Mars hissed, surprisingly close. Usagi whirled to see Mars appearing beside them, a metal folding chair in hand. She lifted it up over her head and brought it down on the monster's extended arm as hard as she could.

Usagi cried out as the ends of its fingers tore up through her flesh, letting go of her the hard way. She was pulled forward and fell on top of the blue soldier. She was still clinging to Mercury and weeping loudly as she moved into her lap.

"Don't let go," Usagi whimpered, winding her arms around the soldier's neck. Part of her knew how utterly stupid it was to be acting this way, but she ignored that section of her conscience. She felt safe this close to Sailor Mercury, and she was not going to allow that to slip through her fingers. "Don't let go."

"I..." she sighed, looking uncharacteristically helpless. Finally, her arms closed around the small of Usagi's back. She felt a movement against her neck,  
like Mercury's head was turning. "Mars?"

"I got it," Mars said, her voice dangerous.

Usagi knew that the fight was going to continue and that it was going to be horrible, so she didn't turn around. She buried her face in Mercury's chest and sobbed, wishing that someone else was holding her. She was incredibly thankful for all Mercury had done and would say so as soon as she was able. But Sailor Mercury was not Tuxedo Kamen, and a part of Usagi would never forgive her for not being him.

-----

Mars held the chair in her hands and looked directly at the demon. As much as she hated Nephrite for starting this, and as much as she knew she would eventually make him pay for it, it was the youma's blood she longed for now. She had never thought her life as a Senshi would get so close to her life as Hino Rei. This youma had gone after someone close to her, and even if it was her father, a man she sometimes thought she despised, she was still going to make it pay in the worst way she could think of. No one messed with her family, and slamming that thing's arm had felt unbelievably good.

Killing it would be much better.

It continued to scream in pain long after Mars had promised to take care of the fight on her own, and that sounded even worse than its laugh. Mars forced herself not to wince, refusing to acknowledge any more pain the monster caused. "You stupid bitch!" it screeched, its eye leveled directly at her and seething with hatred.

"I'm not stupid," Mars hissed, her voice low.

It pulled its arm back into place, and Mars watched as it recoiled like a very long spring. Once its body was righted again, it held the injured limb in its other hand. "I am going to make you pay for this, Sailor Mars. If I can't spill her blood, then I will happily rust in yours."

Mars arched an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth rising. "Actually, I like my plan better."

She ran forward, swinging the chair back again. Just when she was in range, she propelled it forward, but she'd made too much of a show of her action. The monster reached out and wound its fingers around one of the legs. It started spinning her around, but she let go before it could go forward with its initial plan. She hit the ground low, sliding backwards on her heels. It threw the chair right at her head, but she ducked just in time, glancing up when she felt the cold metal brush against the top of her head.

"What is this man to you, anyway?" the youma asked, blinking its eye.

Mars narrowed her eyes. In retrospect, perhaps being so enraged at this whole process had been an error on her part. It was no secret that she put everything she had into battle, but she hadn't even thought to mask how personal this fight was for her. Now the demon was asking questions, when it ought to have been shrieking in pain. "What does it matter?"

"I'd like to know," it said simply, as if curiosity was the only reason for its query. In fact, Mars knew that it was looking for information to take back to the Dark Kingdom if it could find a chance to retreat. After all, it had been ordered not to leave them alive, but if it returned with valuable information such as her real name, it would be heralded before it was thrown into the scrap heap.

It reached out and picked up another chair, flinging its arm back and then sending the metal projectile at her head. She rolled out of the way, listening as it added, "Before I kill you, I'd like to know."

She landed on her feet, heels clacking against the floor. She looked up at her opponent in defiance, lip curled. "No hurry then."

The monster wasn't deterred and began to muse about the various possibilities aloud. "He's too old to be your brother. And certainly too old to be your lover," the youma said matter-of-factly. "Then again, you humans--"

"AKU RYO TAI SEN!"

The throw had been a bit wild from her shaking hands, but it still seemed as though it was going to hit its target. The paper zipped forward, nearly making a direct hit. Unfortunately, the youma twisted its torso away from the ofunda although its legs stayed in the same place. It smirked, apparently under the mistaken impression that the display would disturb her rather than just piss her off. "Not your lover."

"Not anyone," Mars snapped, having quite enough of this line of questioning. "He's nothing to me."

"Liar," it muttered darkly.

Mars blinked, straightening. All of the blood in her body rushed right to her ears and her head felt very heavy. She swayed a bit on her feet, literally staggering beneath the weight of its words. It shouldn't have meant much, especially not coming from a monster she was about to turn into a very shiny puddle, but it did.  
Because even though it had been a simple taunt, it still rang horribly true.

Her father was important; more important than she'd been willing to admit. For years, she had convinced herself that he was just a man who married her mother and the end result was a baby. After she died, her father had no more place in her life. But that wasn't at all how things were. If he really didn't mean anything, why had she cried when he left; why did she always make every conversation into a battle; and why did she feel so sick every time he didn't show up when he said he would? None of that would have hurt if he meant nothing.

But he was her father, and after all this time, she was finally ready to admit that it meant something to her.

"Mars!"

She looked up in shock at Mercury's call. Her eyes locked on another chair-missle that was now just inches away from her. Mars dropped down flat, once again just barely managing to avoid the blow. She looked up at the youma, whose omnipresent smile seemed to be full of secret wisdom. And that's when she knew she'd been found out.

"Daddy's little girl, eh?" it whispered, too low for either Mercury or the sobbing blonde in her arms to hear.

Mars ground her teeth together. No one mocked her or her feelings and walked away in one piece. She pushed herself up off the ground and ran forward, wanting nothing more than to wring its skinny neck between her hands and twist off its one-eyed head. She would make the monster pay, not only for hurting her father and that girl, but for ever daring to presume it knew anything about her.

Mercury, it seemed, had other plans.

"SHABON SPRAY!" she cried, flinging out one arm towards the fight.

Mars skidded to a stop as Mercury's mist filled the room, putting up a moving wall between Mars and the monster. She glanced around frantically, trying to find its shadow in the fog. When she couldn't so much as seek out a glimmer of metal, she shrieked, stamping her foot. "Mercury, how dare--"

"Duck!" she interrupted sharply.

On instinct, Mars obeyed. The attack didn't come as quickly as Mars would have thought, but it came. Mercury couldn't have possibly seen it coming, but she had predicted the assault the minute Mars had opened her mouth. She'd betrayed her position by yelling, and it had nearly killed her.

That's when she realized that Mercury had done the smart thing in launching her defensive attack. Mars had been about to do something reckless, and it probably would have gotten them all killed. She'd let her emotions get the better of her by running and then by yelling. She wasn't going to make either mistake again.

Mars smiled when she thought of something else very important: while the youma had to rely on sound to locate her position, she had other methods.

She took a deep, silent breath to steady her nerves. Then she closed her eyes, knowing that it would be easier to find her target if she was deprived of all visual distractions. She could still hear things: shouting outside, sirens in the distance, that girl's muffled sobbing. That at least was becoming more distant,  
which meant Mercury was slowly getting her out of the room now that they had cover. That meant Mars had to act quickly; if she noticed them leaving, the monster would eventually do the same.

It was easy for her to tell there was a malevolent presence in the room, but pinpointing its exact location took a bit more effort. She had to concentrate as hard as she could, clear her mind of everything, and focus on its aura. Then she could follow its signature and attack, turning it into so much trash. If it was lucky.

But Mars couldn't get her mind completely clear. No matter what she did, she could not stop thinking of her father, lying broken on the floor, proving that someone as formidable as him was just as fragile as any other man. Her enemy had become not only a victim but the person she was supposed to save. She didn't want to care about him. She didn't want to make sacrifices for the man who had sacrificed her. She didn't want to take his life, but she wasn't sure she wanted to save it either.

She was invested when she thought she'd been indifferent, and she didn't have to even ask why. In spite of everything, he mattered. And no one ever, ever laid a hand on people who mattered.

"Especially not you," Mars whispered, bringing her hands up again. "There."

She spun around, pushing her arms out in front of her. She screwed up her face, drawing on more power than she had ever touched consciously. The cloth of her gloves started to smoke as she called on the fire. It licked her skin, but she did not cry out. She simply shouted, " FIRE SOUL!"

The flames shot forward, pushing through the fog and burning it up in the air. It only took a few seconds to prove that she'd been right. The attack hit its target dead on, engulfing the youma in an inferno that grazed the ceiling. It screamed and flung its limbs about, and even Mars had to cover her ears as the noise grew louder and higher. The glass in the windows cracked and blew out, and Mars was driven to her knees.

Finally, it was over, and all that was left of the youma was a smaller fire and the outline of some glasses lying on the floor.

Mars jumped when white filled her vision. She looked up to see Ami, not Mercury, aiming a fire extinguisher at the remaining flames. Mars was a bit disappointed to see that it actually worked.

After a moment, the fire was out, and Ami let the extinguisher drop to the ground. She turned to Mars, looking weary. "Rei..."

"Right," Mars said hoarsely, letting her transformation fade. "Right."

It was done. There was no need for soldiers now.

-----

"Your youma failed."

Nephrite glared over the rim of his brandy, his eyes seeking out Zoisite even before he finished appearing. He raised an eyebrow at the blond general, not necessarily surprised by the news, but surprised Zoisite was the first to know. "Wasting your spies on me again?"

"Forget that," Zoisite snarled, his cheeks turning pink. "Didn't you hear what I said? Your youma--"

"I heard you," Nephrite snapped, his fingers tightening around the glass. He had prepared himself for this outcome, but he had wanted badly to triumph. When he saw how Mars was behaving, he had thought perhaps she would be too emotional to fight rationally. Apparently, he had been wrong; he hated being wrong. "I don't suppose you know exactly what happened?"

Zoisite seemed a bit taken aback he actually wanted to know. He cleared his throat, resting a hand on his hip, and began. "Everything seemed to be in your favor after you left, but then it attacked a random girl. Everything pretty much went to hell after that."

Nephrite scowled, furious at the misstep but thankful the Sailor Senshi had done him the trouble of slaughtering it so he wouldn't have to. "That wasn't part of its objective."

"Obviously," Zoisite drawled, tossing his head. "You don't have enough control over your own monsters. Then again, that's not surprising. You are just giving birth to them out there. And you know how the little nestlings tend to rebel."

"Is that why you're so insufferable? Your mother?" Nephrite asked, forcing himself to be cool and taking another sip of his drink.

Zoisite turned red, but he did not lose his temper. Nephrite hadn't thought he'd be able to manage it, and he was disappointed about the lack of reaction. Then again, he supposed Zoisite was feeling the same. "Are you delusional? That's twice now you've failed."

Nephrite was more than aware of that fact, and he would undoubtedly take out his frustrations violently once he was alone. He didn't appreciate Zoisite bringing it up, and had he not been Kunzite's favorite, Nephrite was quite sure that Zoisite would be a bloody, whimpering mess on his floor.

But, of course, he couldn't do any of that, so he had to settle for a smirk. "Why, Zoisite. I had no idea you cared."

"Don't flatter yourself," Zoisite murmured in a disgusted tone, twirling his hair preciously and turning his nose up. "You're not my type."

"Of course. My rank isn't high enough."

Zoisite bared his teeth and stalked forward. He was finally infuriated enough to show it. Nephrite sighed quietly, happy that he had found the breaking point. It was a shallow contentment, not getting anywhere near to the point of outweighing the loss of yet another battle, but it helped a little.

"Listen to me, you--"

"Remember who you are addressing, Zoisite," Nephrite interrupted smoothly. "I am still your superior, and I can assure you that nothing about me is little."

Zoisite continued glaring at him, but his lips began to curl. "We'll see how long that lasts."

Nephrite narrowed his eyes, rising to his feet. There were some things that could not be allowed to pass without a display of strength. "Kunzite's pet or no, I will not tolerate threats."

His subordinate's back straightened, green eyes flashing with insolence. Nephrite longed to black it, but then Zoisite could claim the threats were justified. "What do I need to threaten you for with two failures in a row? Any minute now, Queen Beryl will be calling you to the throne room to verbally lambaste you. It's only a matter of time until she screams for your blood like she did with Jadeite."

Nephrite curled his free hand into a fist, his voice dropping an octave and rumbling deep within his chest. "There is no need to bring the dead into this."

"I simply came here to warn you about the impending dressing down," Zoisite said innocently. "Stupid of me to do you a favor."

"The next time you get the urge, stick a needle in your eye," Nephrite grumbled.

Zoisite huffed. "See if I try to help you again." His point made, he turned his face away and vanished from the chamber in a tornado of sakura petals.

Nephrite snorted, snatching his glass off the table. He took a long drag, draining it all, and then slamming it back down. He took little comfort in the display, but he knew it would have been worse if he had continued acting mellow.

"Help. Favors. Bullshit." He pushed away from the table, continuing to glare at the spot Zoisite had occupied. "You want my head and my rank, Zoisite, but you won't have either."

Unfortunately, Zoisite was right about the performance of the last two youma. The fact that the trial had failed twice now meant that something in the formula had to be changed. Kunzite had taught him that; he'd taught Jadeite that. Jadeite had just failed to listen out of spite, never forgiving being ranked as second best.

Nephrite was just as prideful as his old comrade, but he wasn't stupid enough to let that rule him. He knew that the only way to be certain that nothing went wrong again meant he was going to have to take a bit more of a hands on approach. He would keep a much closer eye on the next target.

And the next time there was a battle, he wouldn't leave for home.

"Cheers, Senshi. And Tuxedo Kamen," he said, raising his empty glass in tribute to them.

Then he smashed it against the wall.

-----

Rei sat among the wreckage of the entrance to the children's wing with her arms wrapped around her knees. She'd just been interviewed by the third police officer in what felt like the last five minutes, a fact that normally would have irritated her beyond politeness, but she was too tired to be self-righteous. She wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

And to know how her father was.

Seconds after she had dropped her transformation, police and medical personnel had burst through the doors. She'd been surrounded and interrogated almost immediately, and Ami along with her. Medical staff had gone right to her father and taken him away before Rei could even be sure he was all right.

Ami had left some time ago to see what she could find out about his condition, as well as lead a team to where that other girl was. She thought she'd heard Ami call her Usagi. She didn't know how Ami planned to find anything out. She'd asked about him several times, and they had given her the run around - his own daughter. That had been enough to cause a few screaming matches, and now she had nothing left in her.

"How are you doing?"

Rei looked over, a bit surprised to see Ami sitting beside her again. She had expected her to take a bit more time sorting everything out. But she was there now, asking questions, and like it or not, Rei had to answer them. She sighed and turned her eyes forward, preferring it to eye contact. "I've only made one of them cry."

Ami laughed quietly. "Remarkably well then."

Rei swallowed, her fingers drumming against her knees. She was nervous, which she hated. She hated being anxious and feeling weak. She would much rather be a lot of other things much closer to anger.

"How is he?" Rei asked quickly, wondering if she sounded too eager.

Ami pursed her lips thoughtfully, and the hesitation made Rei feel sick. She started to imagine that she had been too late. She wondered if he was in a coma or in surgery or if the doctors were just standing by his bed as he moaned in agony, unable to do anything but watch.

"Ami..." Rei whispered with a shake in her voice.

"He's going to be all right," Ami said finally, the sentence coming out in a rush when she realized what she'd done. She waited until she was sure that Rei had registered what she'd said by letting her shoulders finally relax a little. Then she continued, saying, "Actually, he's probably well enough to go home now, but they're keeping him overnight for observation." She paused. "I think he also wants to stay here. He's probably a bit unnerved."

Rei laughed out loud, realizing that this mistaken impression was probably what had caused Ami's earlier hesitation. It was laughable that Ami had even considered this an option. "My father? Want to do anything but work? You must have gotten him mixed up with someone else."

"That's just the impression I got." Ami shrugged, and Rei could see her duck her head a bit in embarrassment. "Maybe the experience changed him."

"Maybe he remembered to bring his briefcase with him," Rei said sarcastically, the usual bitterness leaping forward to overtake all of those other uncomfortable feelings. She liked the familiarity even if it left her feeling corrupt.

Ami looked down, frowning. She probably didn't approve of Rei's behavior, but she didn't care. Ami didn't know anything about her father or their relationship, and in spite of her epiphany, some things were never going to change.

"My mother said to tell you that you're welcome to see him if you'd like," Ami offered, her voice betraying her hope.

Rei shut her eyes. "What about your friend?"

"My-- Oh, you mean Usagi," Ami murmured, pushing her hair behind her ears. Rei had no idea why Ami hadn't realized what she was talking about, but she didn't care enough about it to give it much thought. "It's a bit too soon to tell. They're fairly certain there won't be any permanent damage, but they can't be sure until she actually tries to walk on her leg."

"Right," Rei said quietly. "I... She'll probably be okay."

"I hope so," Ami admitted. "She's sort of fragile."

Rei narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. "I don't think so." She paused, realizing she was making assumptions when she'd just been annoyed with Ami for doing the same. "I mean, I don't know her, and yeah, she was pretty screwed up during the fight. But I don't think she's going to lose it or not be able to heal. I just..." Rei sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know. I can't explain it."

Ami nodded, looking extremely thankful for everything Rei had just said even if it was totally incomprehensible. After a second, she cleared her throat and said, "I'm sorry about... how things went. With Usagi and the fog and everything. I'm sorry if I... screwed things up."

"You didn't," Rei said, surprised at how easily it came out. "I thought you did at first, but... it was my fight. And you needed to stay with your friend. I understand."

"She isn't..." Ami trailed off, shaking her head. "Well, thank you for feeling that way. I'm glad that there isn't more for you to resent."

Rei closed her eyes, remembering the reason that she'd been so infuriated with Ami in the first place. Because she'd valued the life of another over her own. Now the same thing had happened, but Rei couldn't bring herself to be that upset about it. She wondered what had changed.

"Have you heard from Mamoru?" Rei asked loudly.

"I gave him a call and told him not to wear himself out getting here," Ami answered, apparently not noticing Rei's lack of volume control. "He's still coming. And he's probably still wearing himself out."

Rei smiled. "Yeah. Probably."

Ami looked at her for a moment, licking her lips. Rei could tell that she was preparing herself to say something that she probably wasn't going to like. She started to get tense before Ami finally managed to open her mouth. "I can take you right to his room if you like."

Rei blinked. That, she hadn't been expecting. "Mamoru's?"

"No!" Ami answered, her cheeks turning pink at the obvious and very improper implication. "Your father's."

"Oh," Rei said, her voice souring. "No."

Ami gave her that same frown. "Rei--"

"I said no, okay?" Rei snapped, squeezing her temples between her fingers. This whole conversation was starting to give her a headache. "I don't want to see him."

Ami stared at her, not believing her. "But Rei, he almost... He could have--"

"I know," Rei said, interrupting her again. Her voice was tight, and her fingertips were now all but bruising her flesh. "I know what could have happened, but I still don't want to see him."

"Is he that unimportant to you?" Ami asked, her voice surprisingly cutting.

"Of course he's important!" Rei yelled, eyes flashing. She didn't need Ami's approval, but she sure as hell didn't need her scorn. "If he wasn't, I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble to--" She cut herself off, remembering who was listening. "Look. He's my father, and that makes him important. I get that now,  
and as much I don't like it, I have to deal with it. I'm dealing, but that doesn't mean that I have to see him."

Ami continued looking at her, eyes accusing every breath she took. "I'm sure he would feel a lot better if you went and saw him."

Rei laughed bitterly. She was constantly amazed at people's perceptions of her father, but at the moment, Ami was taking the cake. "No, actually. I think he'd prefer if I stayed away."

"You're his daughter," Ami stressed, as if the information had somehow been forgotten.

"That doesn't matter," Rei insisted harshly. "It never did."

"But it's different now," Ami reasoned, trying to put logic and emotions together, and unknowingly failing at it miserably. Maybe they could fit in some instances, but not this one. She seemed to be coming to that conclusion in the silence that followed, her eyebrows knitting together and her tone losing its fervor. "Isn't it?"

Rei shook her head violently. "No. It should be, but it isn't. I could go in there now and see how he's doing, and it wouldn't do a thing to change us. He'd still be awkward and not look me in the eye. One of us would still say something purposefully to make the other angry. He'd be entitled and I'd be defensive and I'd still storm out when I couldn't take it anymore." She paused, the final piece of the narration proving to be the hardest to say. Her breath hitched, but she said it anyway because Ami needed to know this so that she could finally back off. "He still wouldn't come after me." She closed her eyes, finding they were starting to sting and loathing it. "It's how we work. No one really tries, and I end up getting burned."

Rei brought her fingers up to her mouth to subtlety, but forcibly shut it. She was never that open, least of all with someone like Ami. There were things she needed to know, and now she knew them. But Rei found there was more than she wanted to say, and she feared of what details would pour out of her if she allowed the opportunity.

They sat in silence for awhile, and it gave Rei time to collect herself while Ami took in all of that information. Rei could tell she tried to say something several times, but she'd stopped each time. Rei wondered if she or anyone else knew how to respond to that, if there was a way to bring comfort in the face of all of that wrongness.

"I'm sorry," Ami finally voiced quietly. "I didn't know."

She was hesitant, but Rei still felt that she needed to answer. Her hands dropped to her sides, releasing her lips. "Yeah, well," Rei muttered awkwardly. "It doesn't seem possible for a man to be so distant from his own daughter."

Ami shook her head without hesitation. "No, I understand."

Rei scoffed, shaking her head. "I hate it when people say that when they actually have no idea--"

"No," Ami interrupted, her voice like steel. "I understand."

Rei finally turned back to Ami and stared at her openly. She looked directly at Ami's eyes, watching how they hardened suddenly in determination. Rei had always thought she looked lost and that her irises were watery and yielding, but now there was strength in them. She wondered if that's what Mercury's eyes looked like. She'd never had the time to look.

"My father," Ami began in a voice that couldn't even be called a whisper. She shut her eyes and knitted her fingers together, starting again. "My parents are divorced."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "I thought your father was dead."

"Everyone does," Ami said easily, not the least bit offended by the mistake. "I don't talk about him much, so people assume. I don't really mind much anymore.

"My father is a painter. He used to say he was born with smudges on his hands," Ami began fondly. "He's also a great swimmer and quite accomplished at chess as well. He's very smart and very impulsive and... a lot like me. And nothing like me."

Rei nodded, though she had no idea where this was going or why Ami was telling her this.

"When my parents went through the divorce, I was frantic. I knew that at some point, someone was going to ask me who I wanted to live with or that my parents were going to end up fighting over me. I'd heard all of the horror stories before. And I didn't know who I wanted to go with or how I wanted the legal battle to turn out. All I really wanted was for things to be normal again."

"But you chose your mom in the end, right?" Rei asked.

"I didn't choose anybody," Ami answered after a moment. "And there was never a court battle that I ever heard about. One day, my father just... left. He left a postcard he'd painted pinned to my door. An electric eel."

Rei looked at Ami in disbelief, knowing exactly what that meant. Her father, just like Rei's father, had essentially given her up in favor of something else. He hadn't bothered to fight for her, and that meant that he didn't care. Even if that wasn't true, that's how anyone with a heart would perceive it. He'd left her without even a hug or kiss good-bye; just a stupid postcard.

Amazingly, Ami didn't stop to rage about just how worthless that must have made her feel. She just continued with her story, perhaps knowing that it was useless to say something Rei understood so well. "I'm supposed to go visit him at certain times during the year, but it never happens. He never calls to reschedule. He never does anything except send me postcards on my birthday and Christmas. Always a different fish or seascape."

Rei swallowed down her anger on Ami's behalf. It was disgusting behavior, and she felt very much like suggesting that their two fathers be declared winners of every Worst Parent of the Year contest ever held before that day or any other day in the future. But she held her tongue and glanced over, unnaturally curious about something. "What was it this year?"

"A turtle," Ami admitted, laughing quietly. "I don't know why, but I thought that was funny. This doesn't really feel like a turtle year."

"It isn't," Rei told her, cracking the knuckles on her right hand. "So, you haven't seen him since the divorce?"

Ami exhaled, pouting her lips for a second. "No, I've seen him a few times. He has to come into the city sometimes to sell his artwork, and he'll stop by my school and say hello. But I've never been up to his retreat, and those trips into the city are rare. He's been living off some royalties for a few years now. I haven't seen him since I was ten."

"Do you hate him?" Rei asked, her voice thick.

To her credit, Ami didn't seem surprised about the question. She just shook her head and answered, "No."

Rei hung her head, feeling guilty in the face of this selfless admission. "Oh," she murmured sadly.

"I've wanted to," Ami continued softly, taking Rei off-guard. "Sometimes, I want to very badly, but I can't really bring myself to do it. No matter what... he's still my father. I'm angry with him; I resent him; sometimes he makes me want to cry, but, I've never hated him." Ami turned her head, an eyebrow raised. "Do you... hate your father?"

"I thought I did," Rei said, surprised she didn't snap about how it wasn't any of Ami's business. "I was so sure that he didn't mean a thing to me, but then today happened."

Ami nodded slowly. She leaned forward a bit, her arms wrapped around her knees. "It's all right _not_ to hate him, you know."

"It doesn't feel all right," Rei muttered. "After everything he hasn't done for me, and everything he has done, I feel like I should want him dead. He abandoned me after my mother died; he has no part in my life; and it's not like he was a great father when we did live together. He's done everything he can to stay out of my life, and he shouldn't be there. He shouldn't mean a thing."

Rei shook her head, putting her face in her hands. She took a long, shuddering breath and continued against her better judgment, saying, "But then I saw him lying there, and all I could think about was that I might have lost him. He looked dead; he looked like my mother, and even though I thought he was already gone, I didn't want him to leave me.

"And don't tell me that I should go up there because of that," Rei snapped, cutting Ami off before she even opened her mouth. "That's exactly why I have to stay down here. He already thinks that I don't care. He has an image of me built up in his head where I'm the cruel, embittered daughter to his distant, indifferent father. And if I go up there and I see him and I let him know that he matters, he's only going to pull farther away."

Ami reached over, stopping just before her hand rested on Rei's shoulder. She was too scared to be that familiar. "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," Rei insisted, sniffling loudly. She swiped at her eyes like a child. "I know him. He hates emotion; he doesn't know how to deal with it. He never hugged me when I cried. He'd see the tears, and he would just freeze up like the concept was totally foreign to him. He didn't even... not even at my mother's funeral, he--" Rei cut herself off, covering her mouth with her hand and taking a sharp breath. "If he knows that I care, then he'll just leave. And I want him around, even if it's only a few times a year, because he matters." Rei laughed, her shoulders shaking. "I'm so stupid."

"You're not stupid," Ami told her quietly.

"No, I am," Rei said, nodding. "If I were smart, I would have figured it out before now." She pressed her fingers against her eyes, knowing that the tears were there and wanting to rip them out rather than actually let them fall. "God, why am I telling you this?"

Ami seemed to get tense beside her, sensing animosity in the question even though Rei wasn't so sure it was really there. "I guess because I understand."

"It would be you," Rei said, her breath hitching. "I've been going to all of this trouble to be mad at you, and now you're the only one who understands this."

"I'm sorry," Ami apologized softly.

Rei took a deep breath, tipping her head back. At last, there it was. The opportunity to figure out if she still wanted Ami to go jump off a cliff. She waited for the irritation to come; she waited for the automatic reply of, "Well, you should be" to work its way past her lips.

But it never came, and that's when Rei knew the truth. She wasn't angry anymore.

"Don't be."

Ami blinked, recognizing what the words really meant. She looked about as shocked as Rei would have been had she not been so exhausted. "Really?"

"Yeah," Rei admitted. "Senshi with daddy issues have to stick together, right?"

It was meant to be a joke, so Rei had no idea why it was what set off her crying jag. She thought that she'd had it under control, but suddenly, her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably and she couldn't catch her breath. She started to turn away from Ami, and she was genuinely surprised when Ami's hand finally collapsed on Rei's shoulder. It was a simple act, but it was enough to make Rei turn to her, resting her forehead on her arm. And she kept crying, water flowing out of her eyes and releasing everything she hadn't even realized was there before.

It was an unexpected catharsis and an unexpected truce, but Rei couldn't say she was sorry either one of them had happened.

-----

Even though Ami had called to tell him that the situation was handled, Mamoru had no interest in staying away. For one thing, Rei was bound to be upset about what had happened with her father, and even if he was still irritated about what had happened the weekend before, he wanted to be there for her. For another, he hadn't forgotten about the girls' feud, which had blessedly dissolved into a mutual, cold awkwardness. Still, leaving them alone after a battle with their adrenaline rushing did not bode well for that lasting, and so he hadn't wasted any more time than necessary in getting to the hospital.

Getting in had been surprisingly easy. When he'd reached the barricade keeping the general public out, Mamoru told the same lie he had back at the juku: that his sister was one of the girls involved in the attack. Much to his surprise, the officer acted as though he had been expecting Mamoru. He did give the cat perched on his shoulder a bit of a look, but he let both of them through.

"She's a smart girl," Luna whispered as soon as they passed. "She even knows what kinds of lies you tell."

"Maybe it's because we all tell the same lies," Mamoru muttered as he pushed his way inside.

It only took him a few minutes to find the right room. As he walked up to the last door, he prepared himself for what might be happening inside. If he was lucky, they wouldn't be speaking to each other. If he was unlucky, they would be fighting again. If he was supremely unlucky, they would be killing each other.

"I hate playing mediator," he hissed to Luna.

"I'm the mediator. You're the unhelpful bystander."

Mamoru made a mental note to forget changing her water the next morning and pushed open the doors.

When Mamoru saw Rei's head on Ami's shoulder and tears streaming down both of their faces, he had no idea what to think. He looked down at Luna, who was similarly bug-eyed. Then he turned back to the girls to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. Finally, he sighed, throwing up his hands.

"I will never, ever understand women."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Interesting fact: originally, this chapter was going to be all about Ami's father randomly showing up. He was going to be the victim of the day, and there was going to be a lot between him and Dr. Mizuno. I thought it would be really interesting as people don't tend to do a lot with Ami's dad. But as I was putting the chapter together, I realized Ami and Rei were never going to be able to reconcile over their mutual experiences with bad parenting if Rei had to be the one to come forward. Sadly, Rei's way too proud to share that part of herself, and I don't think she would have been that sympathetic to Ami's situation when she's still angry with her. So it had to get totally switched around because Ami would be much more willing to come forward with her story when she saw Rei so upset.

Crazy, no? I still may someday revisit the idea of Ami's dad randomly showing up in a one-shot at some point in time. But for this fic, he remains conspicuously absent from her life. Sad.

Another interesting fact: Usagi was totally not supposed to be in this chapter.

I honestly have no idea how she weaseled her way in. I was writing it, and suddenly she demanded to be given the chance to feel outrage at Senator Hino. And of course, she couldn't just see that conference, she had to try and do something about it. I guess she's getting tired of being in the background. ; Well, lucky for her, there will be lots of Usagi sightings in the next two chapters. :D In addition to Usagi, next time there will be lots of Motoki, lots of Reika, and lots of Mamoru! Yay Mamoru!

Thanks to the betas Yumeko and Dave as per always, and thanks to all who review this story as well. You guys are all fabulous.

Coming Soon - Part Nine: Breaking Up


	9. Breaking Up

Hands Fall Together  
Part Nine: Breaking Up  
by Kihin Ranno  
9/25  
R

As Motoki leaned his head against the soft pillows, inhaling the scent of French perfume mingled with sweat, and thought that life could not possibly get better than this.

Reika giggled beside him. He peeked at her, smiling at a pair of soft green eyes almost entirely hidden by a mess of hair. He reached forward and brushed it away. "If only the world knew what your hair looked like in bed. You probably wouldn't be nearly as popular."

Reika laughed and swatted his arm, her fingernails grazing the skin, feathers with a sharpened point. "Don't be mean," she instructed, scooting closer to him and resting her head on his chest. She took one of his hands, amusing herself by figuring out different ways to entwine their fingers. "Especially not after I was thinking about how happy you looked just then. I was about to say as much when you decided to get surly."

"I'm sorry," Motoki recited, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. "But why wouldn't I be happy? Look at who I'm in bed with." He craned his head further and placed his lips on her neck.

She yelped and squirmed against him, trying not to laugh. "What have I told you about doing that?"

"To always tickle you there just when you get comfortable."

She gently elbowed his side. "No, that's what you say. I tell you to stop."

Motoki moved so that his face was just inches from hers. "Your lips say one thing, but your eyes..." he trailed off, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Reika scoffed and rolled away from him. "You, Furuhata Motoki, are impossible."

Motoki pillowed his arms underneath his head so that he could take a long, appreciative look at Reika as she emerged from bed. "If by impossible, you mean impossibly good-looking and utterly fantastic in bed, I may just have to agree with you."

"No, just impossible," Reika said, pulling some clothes out of her dresser.

"You're getting dressed? What happened to Naked Day?"

"Motoki, it's almost midnight. In a few minutes, Naked Day will bleed over into Monday."

"And the problem with that is...?"

Reika scooped his shirt up from the floor and pitched it at his head. "I am taking a shower because I have work tomorrow, and I can't go in smelling like I just ran a marathon."

"Two marathons!" he corrected crossly, yanking the shirt off his face. "Remember, there were two of them!"

Reika nodded, ruffling his hair on the way to the bathroom. "Yes, Motoki. They were both very memorable."

"That doesn't sound very sincere!" he called out as she shut and locked the door. That meant she actually wanted to shower alone, which in his opinion, was absolutely no fun at all.

"Abusive," he muttered, sticking his tongue out at the door.

"I heard that," Reika called out. "And don't stick your tongue out if you don't want me to bite it off."

Motoki shook his head and whispered, "How does she do that?" He half-expected her to answer that question as well, but she'd turned on the water by that time, which meant that even Reika's super-sonic hearing was out of commission. He heaved a tragic sigh and pulled his tee-shirt over his head.

Motoki climbed out of the bed and went in search of his boxers, which to his dismay had not landed in an amusing area of the room. He rather enjoyed fishing underwear out of garbage cans or pulling them from lamps and ceiling fans. Sometimes he flung things about just hoping for them to land somewhere nonsensical.

"Maybe Reika and Mamoru are right," Motoki mused. "I'm just easily amused."

He shrugged and continued picking up the rest of the room, finding his button-down shirt and jeans easily enough. Reika's outfit, which of course consisted of a ridiculous number of layers and accessories, was much more difficult to locate. Her jacket was hanging on a bed post, one of her shoes had wound up in a potted plant, and her bra was lying on her desk, one of the straps wrapped around the knobs on the top drawer.

He gathered up a few of the items and deposited them in the hamper. While Motoki preferred to live in chaos, Reika was an incurable neat freak, so he indulged her when he stayed over. She never ventured into his apartment unless he promised that he had cleaned, which of course he never did.

He chuckled a bit and sauntered over to the desk, tugging the bra with one hand. Unfortunately, he hadn't been paying close enough attention to what he was doing, so he didn't bother to untangle the straps before pulling. His error resulted in him not only opening the drawer, but pulling it off its track and dumping an unbelievable amount of writing supplies onto the floor.

"Gah!" Motoki yelled, jumping to avoid a particularly malicious pair of scissors that spun toward him. He surveyed the damage, knowing that he was probably going to get yelled at for messing up what was the meticulously organized drawer. He sighed and tossed the bra into the hamper. "I just can't win."

"Motoki, are you all right? I heard a crash!"

"Just me being clumsy," Motoki called back. "Don't worry, I'm fine!"

"You won't be if you don't clean up the mess you made!" she teased.

"I know, I know," he muttered, crouching down to put things back together as best he could. Reika wouldn't really be that upset, and besides, he'd stop by her work the next day with lunch as a surprise. That would make up for every irritating thing he'd done since he'd stopped by that morning.

He started loading everything back into the drawer as neatly as he could. The envelopes went on top of the extra sheets of computer paper, and the box of staples found a place next to the bag of paperclips. In minutes, everything looked where Motoki thought Reika might put them.

"That's more like it," he said, lifting the now full drawer and fitting it back into the desk. He realized belatedly that he probably should have done that the other way around, but after a bit of struggling, he managed to slide it home. He straightened, brushing his hands off for emphasis. "And done!"

He started to walk back towards the bed, when his bare foot brushed against a sheet of paper. He looked down at yet another envelope. He nearly went to go put it with the others, when he noticed that there appeared to be something inside.

Curious, he turned it around and looked at the postmark. He raised both his eyebrows when he saw that it had come from the Azabu Institute of Technology. He glanced over hisshoulder at the bathroom door. It had been nearly ten minutes, sohe probably had about five before she would come out. It didn't seem like a thickletter, so he could read it in that time.

He slid the letter out of the envelope and started to read.

_Dear Ms. Nishimura, _

_Thank you very much for your application to join our archeological program in __Equatorial Guinea__. As you are undoubtedly aware, this program is extremely popular among our science students at the university, and as such, we have received a great many applications to join. However, we are pleased to inform you that you have progressed beyond the first round of applicants. _

_It is highly uncommon for undergraduate students to be considered for this type of research, so you should consider it an achievement to have made it this far in the selection process. This research excavation will assist in gaining experience in the field. _

_We would like to once again stress the fact that this is a one-year program in a poorer section of the African continent. If you have any long-term health problems or any other reservations about your participation, we strongly urge you to contact our office and withdraw your name from consideration. _

_You will receive a letter in one month's time to inform you as to whether or not you have been accepted. In the meantime, please continue to have a restful and pleasant break, and we will see you at the beginning of next term. _

_Sincerely, _

_Dr. Kikawada Masaya _

_Dean of Natural Sciences _

_Azabu Institute of Technology _

Motoki stared in utter shock at the sheet of paper in his hands. Just to be sure that he wasn't hallucinating, he went back and reread its contents, confirming everything he had seen the first time. He didn't have to reread it a third time to know that Reika had never told him about this. She had never once mentioned considering the program, her application, or this letter.

Finding that he needed to sit down, Motoki took a few steps back and collapsed heavily on the bed, bouncing a bit as the springs reacted to his sudden weight. He continued looking at the letter that quivered slightly between his fingers, studying every character intently, willing them to change meaning.

He had never noticed anything out of the ordinary. Reika had seemed just the same to him: dedicated in her studies, precise in her organization, graceful in her movements, and breath-taking in every other aspect of her life. He hadn't seen any change in the woman he loved so much that Mamoru often worried about his sanity. There had been no thoughtful crinkle in her forehead, no nervous tightness around the corners of her mouth, no hesitation in her eyes when he saw her. She had hidden this so well that he hadn't even suspected she was hiding something.

He heard the door open and inhaled, his nose filling with the vapors of steam and lavender. It was the aroma of cleanliness, and it felt so wrong when he felt so wronged with that letter in his hands. "You know, I'm glad you finally talked me into complaining to the superintendent about the water pressure. I swear, I actually look forward to showering now." He listened to her bare feet slap against the wood floor. "What did you upend anyway?"

"The drawer," Motoki said in a quiet voice.

Reika paused. "Well, I see you got everything cleaned up. Aren't I lucky to have such a considerate boyfriend?"

Motoki held up the letter just high enough so that she could see it. "When were you going to tell me about this, Reika?"

The silence that followed the query was so full that it may as well have sucked all of the oxygen out of the room.

-----

Everything was burning. Mamoru didn't think that gold and stone could actually burn, but he couldn't deny what he was seeing. He seemed to be standing in a hallway of flame, surrounded by red flame that could have rivaled Rei's powers. But his skin didn't blister; smoke didn't fill his lungs. The fire gave him terrible claustrophobia, the scalding heat making him eating all the oxygen he tried to inhale.

"There isn't much to fear from fire," an unfamiliar voice whispered in his ear. "You ought to fear those who light the spark."

He turned to look at who had contradicted him, but it was useless. He knew that this wasn't the princess; the voice was too deep and sounded much wiser than the girl ever had. But just like his usual visitor, Mamoru found that he was looking right at this woman and still couldn't see her face. "I think we should fear the weapon as much as the one who wields it," he countered, dimly aware that he was speaking too formally.

She shook her head, and hair that seemed either silver or lavender shimmered in the crimson light. "Fire is a tool, like any other weapon. They want you to be so afraid of it that you forget to be afraid of them. Be wary of it and know the harm it can do, but be more aware of your opponents. You never know when they'll switch tactics and go for the throat."

All at once, the fire vanished. Mamoru looked around and saw they were standing among ruins. There wasn't a single scorch mark.

"The fire wasn't real," Mamoru realized, almost scoffing at his mistake.

"No, it wasn't," she answered with a weary sigh. "The second general, Jadeite, who I believe you've met, created the illusion when things began to look as if we might turn the fight in our favor. Our forces went completely mad. They scattered and were driven directly into groups of hungry youma." She exhaled, a sound far too melancholy for her voice. "I was sorry that I lived to see so much blood."

Mamoru closed his eyes. He had never known those people, but he knew that he had been a part of that time a thousand years ago. He wondered if he had been one of those soldiers who turned and fled at the sight of the inferno and if that was why this woman had told him the story.

"He's dead now. Again," Mamoru told her.

He glanced over and very clearly saw her lips curve into a smirk. Everything else was blurred. "Mars?"

Mamoru blinked. "Yes, actually."

"I'm not surprised," she said, sounding amused. "She wasn't very happy when he used her element, illusion or no. I wouldn't be surprised if a bit of that grudge carried over."

Mamoru smiled at that. At least one similarity between Rei and her past life. He wondered if he'd ever tell her about it.

He cleared his throat. "So, I'm going to guess that you're Queen Serenity. I'd throw in some pre-apology to take care of the possibility that I'm wrong, but I don't think I am."

She laughed this time, and he couldn't stop the swell of pride that filled his chest. Nor could he pinpoint exactly why it had appeared. "You are clever, then. And confident." She paused, to chuckle a moment more. "Just as I remember."

Mamoru paused, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. This was important. "You knew me?"

"I did," she admitted easily. "To be perfectly honest with you, there were very few people who did not know of you and a great deal who knew you personally before the end. You were very easy with your friendship, although there were those close to you who wished you hadn't been."

There was bitterness there, slight but unmistakable. He thought of questioning it, but he sensed she wouldn't answer. She wasn't speaking in riddles like the princess, but somehow, he was sure that she would elude him nevertheless. Besides, there were more important questions to voice.

"Might I ask you something?" Mamoru inquired, sensing it was best to ask permission first.

"Of course," she responded kindly.

Mamoru turned to face her, his eyes boring into the place where he thought hers might be. "Can you tell me what the Ginzuishou is and where I might find it?"

He knew her lips were moving, but what he heard next was not her voice. It sounded more like banging, but that didn't make any sense.

If a drumming goldfish suddenly floated overhead, he was never, ever going to forgive his mind.

"I'm sorry, what?"

She hadn't stopped talking, and the banging hadn't stopped. He covered his ears as it got louder and more persistent. He turned to see if the noise was coming from behind him, fully prepared to tell whatever it was to shut up and let him get information in peace.

All he saw was his own ceiling.

Mamoru blinked away sleep. He'd woken up, groggy and irritable. She could have been telling him the longitude and latitude of the damn thing's location as well as what it was beyond some spiritual nonsense, but now he was never going to know. He didn't even know if that had been a vision or a dream or some strange combination of both. He certainly couldn't see what its purpose had been, and he was beginning to become so frustrated with the whole business that he wanted to wake Luna up and tell her to go shove her mission up her—

The banging came again, and he sat up. Luna groaned at the foot of his bed. "Mamoru, would you please go punch whoever that is?"

Mamoru almost asked her what she was talking about, but then he realized that someone was knocking. He looked at the clock; it was after four in the morning. He glared at it reproachfully, as if Time was to blame for the noise in the hall, but he threw the covers off anyway. He pulled a pair of seldom worn pajama pants out of his drawer and stepped into them, thinking that even though it was unlikely to be Ami or Rei, he didn't want to have to deal with one of them fainting or jumping him.

He staggered into the living room, rolling his eyes as the banging started again. "I'm coming," he grumbled, not bothering to acknowledge that no one outside his apartment was going to be able to hear him. He dragged himself down the hallway and struggled with the locks on his front door. Finally, he flung it open, glaring darkly at who was on the other side.

He found it very difficult to maintain that when he saw the look on Motoki's face.

"Shit," Mamoru muttered, feeling that was an appropriate assessment.

Motoki opened his mouth, took in Mamoru's appearance, closed it, and opened it again. "I woke you up." He looked at his watch. "It's after four - of course I woke you up."

"Don't offer to leave," Mamoru instructed, pulling him inside by the shirt collar. "I'm not going back to sleep with you looking like that."

Motoki shook his head as Mamoru locked them in again. "I didn't think it was that late. I guess I've been walking around for a long time."

"You've been out by yourself at this time of night?" Mamoru asked, mildly horrified. "I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly stupid that is, and that's even ignoring the upswing of paranormal activity."

Motoki didn't even crack a smile at Mamoru's deft use of understatement. "I was too busy wallowing in self-pity to think about my safety. I think I might have even thought it would be better if I were attacked by a vampire or something." He sighed, rubbing the heel of his hand into his eyes. "I've turned into a teenager again. It's horrible."

Mamoru leaned against the door, arms akimbo and eyes narrowed in concern. It wasn't often that Motoki indulged himself enough to brood. "What happened, Motoki?"

He heaved a fantastic sigh and opened his eyes, staring at Mamoru woefully. "Reika and I broke up."

That was enough to bring Mamoru fully into wakefulness. His back straightened, and his mouth fell open. "Jesus, how?"

-----

"I was going to tell you, Motoki. I just…" her voice trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

He hated that. He didn't want to hear her being unsure of herself now, not when she had been sure enough to take action. He got to his feet and turned around, finding that it was hard to stand straight with what felt like a dumbbell sitting inside his chest. "I would never abandon you," Motoki said quietly. "Don't you know that?"

Reika hung her head, her fingers curling into the towel she had wrapped around her trim form. "I know."

"Why did you hide this fellowship from me?" he asked gently. "I would have encouraged you. I would have helped you. Well, I might not have been much help, but… I would have wanted to be involved, Reika."

Reika shrugged. "I didn't want you to get my hopes up, I guess. I haven't been accepted to the program. There are a lot of applicants, and--"

"But none of them are you," Motoki insisted. "You're… you're brilliant, Reika. You're tops over most of the students in your field. You're probably smarter than a lot of your professors. How could they not accept you?"

Reika sighed, shaking. "This is what I mean, Motoki. I applied because my advisor encouraged me to," Reika said matter-of-factly. "He said I would be perfect for the program. I didn't think it would go anywhere. It was just a few hours on a Saturday afternoon filling out the application and one interview. It didn't even seem worth mentioning it to you, but then I started thinking about it, and… it started to sound really good for me. I started wanting it, even though I knew I shouldn't. I should have been expecting the worst because the worst is what almost always happens. And it took me awhile to get to that place, but I got there again. If I'd told you, you would have just lifted my spirits again."

Motoki laughed in disbelief, throwing his arms out. "So, if I was completely disinterested and defeatist, you would have told me?"

"No," Reika said, her voice tight. "You never would behave that way. You're a good guy."

"Yeah, I'm a good guy!" Motoki agreed loudly, standing more upright. "I have always been there for you, right beside you every time you've achieved something that makes my jaw drop."

Reika ran a hand through her damp locks. They were drying in the air, curling in on themselves and starting to frizz. "You have to say those things because you're my boyfriend."

"But it's true," Motoki maintained. "Reika, even if you thought I was some slug not worthy of being crushed underneath your heel, I would still think all of these things about you."

"No, Motoki." Reika's eyes flashed with unexpected anger. "You always do this. You ignore everyone's faults so that we're up on pedestals. It's completely unrealistic."

"Reika, I know you're not perfect, but that doesn't mean--"

Reika shook her head sharply, sending the water that clung to the ends of her hair scattering. They dropped to the ground, mimicking the sound of a brief, light rainfall. "What are my faults then, Motoki?"

Motoki froze. Reika wasn't a woman who would bite his head off for actually answering the question, but he didn't want to appear too eager to rattle them off. Not to mention, he couldn't come up with anything other than "trust issues" at the moment, and he did not want to go down that road.

"I am not going to answer that question," Motoki decided. "It's a ridiculous thing to ask of me, Reika, and I won't do it."

Reika seemed very tempted to argue whether or not the request was in fact ridiculous. "All right, Motoki. Let's set that aside. Suppose I was selected to go on the trip. What then?"

"Then you'd go on the trip," Motoki said, incredulous.

"I mean, what happens to us?" she asked, looking at the ceiling in exasperation. The program lasts a year, and there's a good chance it could be extended if enough research is generated and grant money can be obtained. What are we supposed to do?"

"What, is there no paper in Equatorial Guinea? No pens?" The moment the words left his mouth, Motoki considered kicking himself. He could tell she hadn't appreciated his sarcasm. "I just mean that we can write. I don't expect that you'll have very much access to a phone, and I'm not saying my letters will be very literary, but--"

"Motoki, you have no idea how difficult a long-distance relationship is," Reika said, cutting him off.

"Oh, and you do?" Motoki asked sharply.

Reika nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "I do, as a matter of fact. I've tried long distance before, a year before I met you, and it was a disaster. He… he cheated on me and everything just completely fell apart. I can't deal with that again."

"This is different, Reika," Motoki insisted. "You know me. I would never do anything resembling that."

Reika shook her head. "I thought Touya was different, but he's the one with a trophy wife now, isn't he?"

"I am not your ex-boyfriend, Reika," Motoki snapped. "Don't compare me to him. It's not fair to me."

Reika took a deep breath, nodding slowly. "I'm sorry. I just want you to understand that it is very difficult to go that long without seeing each other. I wouldn't be able to come back until the fellowship was over, Motoki. Not for…" she faltered a bit. "Not for anything."

Motoki felt a lump in his throat. He'd been so focused on Reika's success that he hadn't really considered how it was going to affect him. A year sounded much shorter than the reality, and to go that long without seeing or touching Reika, made him dizzy.

"We'd manage," he maintained.

Motoki could tell by the thickness in her voice that she was on the verge of tears. He felt nauseous with guilt even though he had no idea what it is he could have done wrong. "You say that now, Motoki, but nothing really matters until it actually happens, does it? You'll get lonely. You don't do well neglected, and Mamoru can't keep you inebriated for twelve months."

Amazed at how wrecked she had become in less than a minute, he started to move forward to take her in his arms.

"And next thing you know, you'll turn to someone else for company."

This brought Motoki to such a halt it likely looked as if he'd hit an invisible wall. "_What?_"

"Well, it's not as if there aren't other girls for you," Reika continued, her lips trembling. "There's the fashion student you used to go around with."

Motoki ran a hand down his face. "That's hardly worth considering since she's decided she much prefers breasts now."

"And of course there are those girls from the arcade," Reika concluded. "It's terribly obvious that one girl with that hairstyle – you know the one – wouldn't say no to being your girlfriend."

Motoki couldn't help but feel utterly disgusted. "Usagi? Reika, for God's sake, the girl's only fourteen."

"Well, she'll be fifteen before I'm back," Reika reminded him, sounding bitter and miserable.

"And it'll still be disgusting!" Motoki said, finally yelling.

"So maybe it wouldn't be her," Reika countered, her own voice matching Motoki's in volume.

"There is no way that anything like this is going to happen!"

Reika shook her head violently. "You can't predict that Motoki. You can't say--"

"Yes, I can," Motoki insisted firmly, refusing to back down.

Reika huffed, obviously disliking how much it felt as though she were on the losing side of this argument. "Even if you didn't, I'd always be thinking that you might be. Obviously, you don't do well when faced with the possibility, so surely we'd argue about it. This might ruin everything."

"It won't!" Motoki shouted, his own tears making his voice crack. He cleared his throat harshly, furious with himself. "We're not going to let something like that wreck us. We are stronger than that, Reika, better than that." He paused, staring at her as realization dawned. "Or at least I thought we were."

Reika looked at him, long and hard. Her eyes, dark as forests and deep emeralds, glittering with tears. She looked at him imploringly, silently begging for understanding he knew he was unable to give. He loved her so much he breathed in glory, and he wanted nothing more than to find some peace with her. But when she stared at him like their relationship was already broken, he breathed nothing but hopelessness.

Reika's shoulders hitched as she released a quiet sob, her hand moving up to cover her mouth. She kept looking at him, but the request was gone from her eyes. Now he couldn't see past the tears. "I love you, Motoki," she said with unquestionable sincerity. She took a deep breath and continued, "But I…"

"Please don't," Motoki said softly, holding up his hand. "Please, I… I don't want to know whatever it is you're going to say."

Motoki--"

"No."

-----

When everything was said and done, they'd gone through one six-pick and were steadily making their way through another. Motoki slumped on the couch, his eyes glued to the ceiling as if there were answers in the plaster. His breaths shook and his eyes shined. He was flattened.

Mamoru knew this was the moment when he was meant to prove his worth as the best friend. The right words were meant to pour from his throat – the right promises, the right advice, the right everything. Cosmic knowledge should have magically appeared in his mind and his tongue should have relayed. He was supposed to fix this. He'd been tasked to do it.

Mamoru popped open another can and leaned across the coffee table. "Here."

Motoki took it, not looking away. "Thanks."

"Don't say that," Mamoru whispered.

"Hm?"

"Nothing." Mamoru swallowed, his eyes seeking out a stain on the carpet. "Nothing."

-----

When Usagi and Naru had been in elementary school, Naru had gone through a very brief, painful daredevil phase. A few bullies had tried to get Usagi to jump off a swing as soon as it had reached its highest point in the air. Usagi had cried because it was her default reaction to all things unpleasant, and Naru coming to her rescue by doing it instead. This resulted in Naru breaking both of her arms. The screaming had been terrible, and Usagi had literally made herself sick from sobbing so much.

The casts, however, had been spectacular. It had made Naru extremely popular for the length of time she had them. Everyone had been desperate to sign their names with well-wishes, including the bullies who had instigated the incident in the first place. As a nine-year-old, Usagi had seen this and been jealous. She even went so far as to contemplate breaking her leg to siphon some of that excitement, but she decided that, considering the amount of times she had fallen down the stairs without so much as a fracture, her bones were unnaturally strong.

Usagi didn't have a cast now. Instead, she had a brace, a good deal of bandages, and a pair of crutches. Usagi had always thought crutches looked ungainly and uncomfortable, but felt she would be willing to endure them so long as she had the cast.

Clearly, God had a very mean sense of humor.

Usagi whimpered as she hobbled down the street, quickly regretting her decision to get out of the house and to visit Motoki at the Crown Arcade. It had seemed like a good idea when faced with her ill-tempered father, supposedly home with a symptomless head cold, her hovering mother, and her continually sullen little brother. They had all been shaken by Shingo's experience, but the attack on Usagi had nearly made their legs go out from beneath them. Of course, they had no idea that this was hardly the first time Usagi had found herself on the wrong side of a battle – the side without any weapons with which to fight. She knew now more than ever that she would have to keep that secret forever.

Usagi sighed in relief when she finally saw the arcade come into view. In just a few moments, she'd be inside with booths and stools and chairs galore, as well as Motoki, who had just pulled ahead of Tuxedo Kamen in the race for who would one day become her husband.

She didn't like to do it, but considering the masked hero had neglected to show up in time to save her from torture and the ill-fate of crutches, she had little choice in the matter. Motoki had, after all, saved her little brother not too long ago. He might not have a cape, but he was proving to be the more reliable man.

Finally, Usagi reached the arcade, and was increasingly thankful for its automatic sliding door. She hobbled inside, breathing hard, and swiveled to the soda and ice cream bar. She was torn between smiling and scowling when she saw both Motoki and Mamoru. It was so hard being in love with a man whose best friend was a complete cow.

Usagi continued forward anyway because with Motoki held the promise of sundaes. Besides, she was injured. Surely Motoki would do the noble thing and beat Mamoru upside the head if he made any snide remarks. She reached the counter, smiling as widely as she could while trying to catch her breath, and chirped, "Hi, Motoki!" She turned to the dark-haired man hunched over in his seat and frowned. "Mamoru."

Motoki winced a bit at her greeting, but waved back cheerfully, if slowly. "Morning, Usagi."

Mamoru just grunted.

"Oh, that's nice."

"As you have so plainly observed time and again, 'nice' is not one of my attributes," Mamoru muttered. He looked down at his coffee cup, resentfully. "Motoki, did you give me decaf?"

"It's entirely possible," Motoki said with a sigh. He reached forward and plucked it out of Mamoru's hands. He barely seemed to notice it was gone. "What can I get for you Usagi?"

"Large vanilla ice cream sundae with hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, and three cherries," Usagi rattled off easily.

Motoki nodded. "The usual." He watched as Usagi struggled towards a seat slightly removed from the brooding Mamoru. Motoki poked his friend with his free hand. "Help her, would you?"

Mamoru snorted. "Help her with what?"

Then, for the first time since she'd walked into the building, he actually turned to look at her. Usagi was taken aback to see his eyes instantly focus and the rest of his body snap to attention a breath later. Actually, he looked positively stricken, something that took her so off guard that while she was attempting to rest her crutches against the counter, she stumbled and almost fell.

He was up like someone had fired a shotgun, one arm darting to wrap around her waist, the other gently catching her elbow to steady her. She gasped at the quick movements and the way he was looking at her, intense and determined and _concerned_. She'd never been looked at so purposefully in her life, and it left her a bit breathless. In the commotion, she lost her grip on the crutches, and they went clattering to the floor, bringing all conversation to a halt and no doubt dragging all eyes towards them. She felt for a moment that everyone who had ever been born was looking at her, and her face grew uncomfortably hot. Their proximity was not helping this mortifying claustrophobia and self-awareness.

"I'm fine," she whispered, looking up at him even though it almost made it feel as if neither of her legs could support her. "Sorry, I just… lost my balance for a minute."

He frowned and said, "Sure you can make it on to the stool?"

"Yes," she assured him, more sharply than she intended. He had a tendency to bring that out in her. She paused, breathing for a minute. "Yes, thank you. I'll be all right." She cleared her throat and glanced toward her seat meaningfully. "If you could just pick up the crutches, I'll deal with the rest."

Mamoru seemed skeptical, but he didn't argue. Once he saw that she had a hand on the countertop, he moved away to pick up the fallen crutches. As she pulled herself up on the seat, she felt him hovering, and glanced back to see he had a hand out to catch her unless she tipped over again. Her cheeks colored, but she kept her head. Finally, she was situated and the crutches were leaning beside her. She exhaled when Mamoru circled around, sitting one seat closer to her.

"Thank you," she repeated.

"What happened?" he asked in an odd voice, suddenly not making eye contact.

Usagi blinked. She thought Motoki would have mentioned it. He'd heard about it somehow and called her house Saturday to make sure she was all right. She opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated, unsure if she actually wanted to tell him. But then, if she lied, he'd figure it out later from Motoki.

"Didn't move fast enough," she muttered, fidgeting uncomfortably.

She'd thought she'd been too subtle and that Mamoru would continue to question her about it, but he seemed to understand. There was a flash of anger in his eyes, and his knuckles were white from gripping the counter. She felt her heart beating in her chest and wondered why it was still pounding from the walk over.

"You look terrible," she remarked, a bit callously. She was desperate enough to get away from the subject to forgo manners altogether. "What happened to you?"

Mamoru took a minute to answer, visibly composing himself. He rested his chin on his fist, trying to look relaxed, but she couldn't miss the tension he held in his back. "I was up all night with that one. He managed to get some sleep – passed out really, the lightweight – but I didn't."

Usagi smiled. Something about knowing that Motoki had consumed alcohol the night before made him more appealing. It wasn't a sense that he was dangerous, just that he was more grown up. She liked it, lightweight or no. "What were you doing up so late?"

"He had a bad day."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said softly. A second later, Motoki reappeared with her ice cream and a cup of coffee in hand. She sat up a bit and said, "Mamoru told me you had a bad day yesterday, Motoki. Anything I can do to help?"

Both boys made identical choking noises, Mamoru unfortunately with a mouthful of hot coffee. He coughed loudly while Motoki slapped his back, looking a bit nervous. "No! No, Usagi. I'm… Well, I don't think there's much you can do to help the situation."

Usagi stared at both of them for a second, certain that something had just happened and finding herself ill-equipped to decipher it. She did what she always did in such situations and ignored it. "Okay… I hope you feel better anyway."

"Thanks," Motoki said, sincerely, his forehead creased as if fighting off a headache. "Water?"

"Please," she responded automatically, taking a large spoonful of her sugar-filled concoction.

Usagi heard the doors slide open and glanced over to see who it was out of habit. She was surprised to see Ami, Mamoru's cat, and another girl she hadn't seen before walk inside. Usagi waved wildly at Ami, thrilled to see her even as Naru's warning echoed in the back of her mind.

_I told you that you should just forget about her, Usagi. You have been nothing but sweet to her, but she still acts like a total snob! There's a difference between being shy and just being unfriendly, and that's Mizuno-san. _

Ami waved back, looking self-conscious. She made a tiny noise of surprise when Luna leapt from her shoulder onto the counter, and made a beeline for Usagi.

Usagi giggled as the cat butted her head up against her wrist. She spooned another bite of ice cream into her mouth before switching hands, using her left to eat and her right to scratch Luna behind the ears. The cat purred loudly, causing Mamoru to cluck his tongue.

"Shameless," he admonished.

The cat gave him a scornful look and then went right back to enjoying Usagi's attentions.

Usagi stuck her tongue out at Mamoru, taking care to be sure there wasn't any chocolate stuck to it first. "Obviously, you don't give her enough affection, so she has to look for it elsewhere. It's absolutely horrible, isn't it?"

The cat seemed to meow in agreement.

"Good morning, Usagi," Ami greeted as she and the other girl finished walking over to them. "I heard about your leg. Is it feeling any better?"

"It hurts a bit," Usagi confessed, although she actually wasn't being that truthful. It hurt a lot, and the painkillers she'd been prescribed didn't do much good. When she'd left the house, her father had been on the phone with her doctor, demanding something stronger.

"The doctors said it should heal all right though."

And that was a blatant lie. They actually suspected there was enough damage that she might always walk with a slight limp, but Usagi wasn't going to admit that to anyone. Not after seeing her mother cry.

"That's good," Ami said earnestly. The unfamiliar girl cleared her throat discreetly, making Ami's ears turn pink. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'd forgotten you two don't know each other. Usagi, this is my friend Hino Rei. She goes to the Catholic girl's academy. Rei, this is Tsukino Usagi."

"Pleased to meet you," Usagi answered automatically, bowing as best she could with both her hands occupied and sitting on a barstool.

Rei narrowed her eyes a bit, scrutinizing Usagi as if she were a car on display. Then Rei looked over at Mamoru, seeming to take note of the distance between them. Usagi looked over to see Mamoru and Motoki exchange a meaningful glance, Motoki's eyebrows waggling, and Mamoru threatening him vaguely with a plastic spoon. A whole slew of messages flew over Usagi's head. It was making her dizzy.

"Likewise," Rei returned finally, bowing much more respectfully than Usagi had done.

"What were you two doing with Luna?" Usagi asked, pausing to swallow another bite of her sundae. It was starting to melt. "Saving her from mistreatment at the hands of this guy?"

Mamoru tutted. "I help you, and this is the thanks I get."

Usagi scoffed, waving a cherry in his direction. "I'm just teasing. Lighten up," she said, and just this once, she actually meant it.

Unfortunately, Usagi's good humor quickly evaporated after Mamoru leaned forward and plucked the cherry right off the stem with his teeth. She slammed her uninjured foot against her seat and yelled, "Hey!"

Mamoru chewed smugly. "Mmm. There was chocolate on that. Lucky me."

"Lucky you nothing, cherry stealer," Usagi hissed. "Congratulations. Now we're fighting again. God, you can be such a jerk."

Motoki let out a weary sigh. "I'll get you another, Usagi."

She swiveled and beamed up at him, opening her eyes wide and fluttering her lashes. "Oh, would you, Motoki? Thank you so much!" She darkened and glowered at Mamoru. "It's nice to know there are some gentlemen left in the world."

"Not when I get through with them," Mamoru said smartly, hopping out of his seat. "Thanks for the coffee, Motoki."

Motoki waved tiredly. "Thanks for not paying."

"Anytime," Mamoru said, looking more energetic than when she'd first come in. He leaned forward again, and Usagi hunched over her ice cream protectively, still giving him a look that would have killed him if there was any justice in the world. "See you later, Odango Atama." He patted her buns before sauntering off, Ami and Rei following quietly behind.

"_Don't call me that!_" Usagi screeched, practically leaping off her stool until she remembered her injury.

Motoki whimpered a few feet away. "Usagi, please don't yell."

She covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry, Motoki."

She sat fuming for a minute, eating the new cherry Motoki had provided her with and finishing off the rest of her sundae. She looked over her shoulder once she was sure she could do so without being overtaken by a fit of murderous rage.

She saw the three of them together in a shadowy booth apart from everyone else. Mamoru was sitting by himself, Luna on top of the table next to him, his hand idly stroking her back. Ami and Rei were huddled together in their seat, speaking in low, hushed tones. Usagi thought by the way they spoke that they were making the same speech in parts, switching off while Mamoru listened. They didn't seem to be having fun, but there was a camaraderie between them that Usagi had been starting to think Ami was incapable of. Something she'd been sure Mamoru was incapable of.

Usagi felt like the little girl jealous of her best friend for breaking her arms.

-----

"Odango Atama?" Rei repeated scathingly.

Mamoru shrugged, lifting his hand to pet Luna as she settled down beside him. He found himself hoping Usagi would glance over and see that he wasn't the horrible pet owner she seemed to think he was. "It fits. Did you see that hairstyle?"

Rei sniffed, her lips pursed unattractively. "Just seems a bit familiar, that's all."

Mamoru had absolutely no idea what she was driving at, so he decided it was best to just change the subject. He looked over at Ami and said, "You didn't tell me she was hurt that badly." His voice was pitched low and sounded coarse. He hadn't liked that surprise when she came into the arcade, and he wasn't keen to repeat it in any context.

Ami didn't blush but looked chagrined. "I suppose we didn't realize it in light of… everything else." She looked over at Rei, smiling shyly. "I thought she'd just been scraped up. From the look of it, there may have been some bone and nerve damage as well."

Mamoru frowned. "That means she might not walk right again."

"Yes," Ami said, looking dismal.

"But she said--"

"She didn't want you or that other guy to worry," Rei interrupted, reminding Mamoru that he hadn't bothered to introduce the girls to Motoki. "There's no sense in getting everyone worked up over something that may or may not happen. Besides, she doesn't seem like the sort of girl who's involved in a lot of sports. It probably won't affect her that much."

Mamoru remembered the first time he and Usagi had met, her barreling down the street in a blur of blue and gold, sounding frantic but at the same time resigned, as if this was life's standard fare. He was inclined to disagree with Rei, but Luna intervened before he could speak.

"What happened with Usagi was unfortunate, but we have more important things to discuss."

Mamoru nodded, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a few sheets of newspaper. He spread them out on the table, gazing down at them wearily, going over the headlines in his head, unsure if he was reading them or if he'd memorized them.

_SENATOR TARGETTED _

_Campaign against Sailor Senshi interrupted by untimely monster_

_SENSHI RESCUE SENATOR _

_Coincidental save does little to abate anti-hero opinions _

_THE DEBATE CONTINUES _

_More people coming out in support of Senator Hino _

_TUXEDO KAMEN ABSENT FROM INCIDENT _

_Did he refuse to come to the aid of politician? _

_SAILOR MERCURY, SAILOR MARS COME TO THE RESUCE _

_Just who are these mysterious warriors, and what do they want? _

He looked up at the girls to gauge their reaction. Ami nodded, clearly familiar with what had been going on, but Rei was more surprised. She'd said before that she didn't pay much attention to the news, particularly politics, but he'd thought she might make an exception for this. He thought about asking how he was, but he had a feeling that would do nothing but start an argument.

"Are they all negative?" Rei asked quietly, looking slightly pale.

"No," Mamoru said, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. His momentary adrenaline jump from baiting Usagi was wearing off. "Actually, these are in the minority. Your fa—Senator Hino is actually looking a bit worse. Even though he hasn't issued a comment since the incident, many are saying he's being petty and refusing to be grateful about his life being saved by people he hated. See this headline about the cover-up? They're saying that he's the one who hushed it all up because he didn't want to look bad. Like getting attacked was his own fault."

It took about a nanosecond for Rei to be moved to fury. "He had nothing to do with--"

"No one here is suggesting that, Rei," Luna said, her brown eyes sympathetic.

"But think of how it looks," Mamoru continued. "He starts campaigning against us, and our enemies use it as an advantage to try and make us look bad should we not save him. Some people are even saying he's in league with them, but I think that's going to be shot down pretty quickly by his extended stay in the hospital."

Actually, Mamoru suspected that was precisely why Senator Hino was still lying in bed under Dr. Mizuno's care. If people thought he was seriously injured, they couldn't accuse him of being part of an organization hell bent on destroying Tokyo and the rest of the world. He was just going to have to hope no one tracked down Sakurada Haruna who aside from being shaken, was perfectly fine.

"Couldn't they just as easily say that we arranged it to make ourselves look good?" Rei asked bitterly.

Luna scoffed at this, apparently finding the supposition so laughable that she refused to respond.

"It's an opinion that's gaining popularity," Ami murmured sadly. "It does seem pretty convenient that he starts this crusade and we save him the same week."

Rei's eyebrow twitched. "I wonder what they'd say if they knew he was my father."

Mamoru had a better question. What if they knew he was her father and that they could barely stand the sight of each other? If that ever got out, Rei stood a good chance of being accused of attempted murder if her father or those around him were vindictive enough.

"Look, I really don't think we have that much to worry about," Mamoru said, talking over his own morbid considerations. "This opinion isn't going to gain popularity unless--"

"Unless we make another mistake," Ami interrupted gravely. She shook her head, her gaze fixed intently on the newspapers between them. "In essence, we're only heroes until we fail."

"And you can't afford to only be successful most of the time," Luna added, whipping her tail back and forth in agitation. "We have to be on top of things every single moment if we have any hope of riding this out."

Rei nodded in agreement. "Clearly what happened with my father is helping us. We were there for him even when he was saying horrible things." She paused, her skin now looking green, no doubt remembering just how violent some of his declarations had been.

Ami's laid a hand on Rei's shoulder.

"Not me," Mamoru reminded them sourly. "I wasn't there, remember?"

Luna leaned against his hand, trying to provide some measure of comfort. "Nobody knows that for certain. The cynics will take that view, but I think after awhile, most people are going to be logical and just realize that you couldn't get there in time. That is what happened after all."

"For all they know, we can teleport," Mamoru muttered, sullen. He hated the insinuation that he hadn't done everything he could to get there in time. Even though he knew no one blamed him for it, he couldn't help but sulk.

"Well, what would you suggest? Take out an ad in the paper to set them straight?" Luna asked, her tone sharp and cold like an arctic wind.

Mamoru was half-tempted to say it wasn't a bad idea. After a moment, however, he waved his hand, dismissing this area of conversation.

Ami was happy to pick things up, clearly uncomfortable with Mamoru's moodiness. "All this means is we have to work harder than ever."

"We're not talking about homework, Ami," Rei teased, smirking a bit.

Ami took the jibe in stride. "I just mean we have to be more vigilant. I had ample opportunity to realize that something was wrong with Haruna-sensei, but I didn't put two and two together until Rei felt something wrong. And all of us had been paying attention to Senator Hino, but no one thought anything was out of the ordinary because we'd seen him arguing with Rei earlier and assumed he was always that ill-tempered. If we can discern who Nephrite is going after before he strikes, we can isolate them to keep anyone else from getting involved."

"I might even be able to drive the spirits out of them if we get there in time," Rei suggested, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back in her seat. "It seems as though Nephrite is channeling his powers through objects – Haruna's car and my father's glasses. If we know what the object is, I could exorcise the demon inside."

"Are you sure about that?" Mamoru asked, sitting up in his seat.

"As certain as I can be," Rei assured him, nodding. "I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't be able to."

Ami narrowed her eyes in consideration. "Is it possible that Nephrite's guessed someone might be able to do that and put some sort of block on it?"

Rei shook her head. "I doubt it. He's probably powerful enough to manage it, but it would take a lot more effort on his part. My guess is that he has to be near the objects to put the curse on them, and while he could have had all the time he wanted with Haruna's car, my father keeps his glasses on him at all times." She paused, bristling. "He was really young when he started campaigning, and there was some concern that he looked too much like a kid to be taken seriously. His manager told him that they made him look older." She combed her fingers through her hair, chewing on the inside of her lip. "He wouldn't have let some stranger handle them for hours."

Ami's eyes lit up for a moment. "And do you know, I don't think anyone in the Dark Kingdom is aware of your psychic abilities. Nephrite wouldn't know to put a block on unless he knew that you could sense dark energy."

Rei frowned at this point. "That means we might only have one opportunity to stamp out the problem before it blows up in our faces."

Luna nodded gravely. "And I don't think we can count on Nephrite not being able to figure out what's going on. He doesn't seem the type to take his own fallibility into account."

"Would he automatically know what happened?" Mamoru questioned.

Luna shrugged. "We certainly can't rule it out. Sometimes, I feel that Mars had similar powers in the Silver Millennium. My memories of that time are incredibly hazy, and I'm starting to suspect our enemies know more than I do. If that's the case, they might already have that knowledge, or it might not be far from the surface." She paused, narrowing her eyes. "I'm going to bet on the latter. It doesn't seem likely that they wouldn't have somehow taken advantage already."

Mamoru suddenly remembered the dream from that morning and made a mental note to ask Luna about it later. Perhaps it would jog her memory.

"I think we need to focus on awareness first and foremost," Ami suggested. "Being able to circumvent the problem before it begins would be wonderful."

"We shouldn't be too optimistic," Rei muttered darkly.

Luna nodded. "Exactly." She paused, looking at each of them in turn. "And while I think we should worry about the intended victims first and foremost, we also ought to keep in mind that… Well, the last few battles have been rather public, haven't they? Too many people have gotten involved. Bystanders have been injured, and now that there is an issue of public trust, I feel we have to be more careful than ever. The last thing we need is a repeat of the hospital incident. They might not be kind enough to wait until we've settled everything next time. Failure to save a victim is understandable, but failure to protect those who aren't involved is… unforgivable."

The whole table sank into silence when Luna had finished. Each and every one of them knew she was right. Usagi had been a warning shot.

Mamoru sensed Ami and Rei both looking behind him, and he couldn't resist the pull he felt to follow their gaze. He stared directly at Motoki and Usagi. She was bent over what looked like her second sundae, laughing exuberantly about whatever Motoki had just said. The college student seemed to be chuckling along with her, but Mamoru couldn't overlook his stopped shoulders and shadowed eyes, hints at a loss Usagi was still too happy to fully understand.

These were the people he had to protect. And he was slowly coming to understand that exasperating as they both could be, he didn't want to lose either of them.

-----

Reika had been standing in a phone booth for the past twenty minutes, and she hadn't made a single call.

She'd left the boutique to go for a walk on her lunch break, telling herself that she would go find food. She had also told herself that she would not waste the whole sixty minutes thinking about, talking about, or attempting to get in touch with Motoki. As evidenced by the staring contest she was now having with the phone, that vow was quickly falling by the wayside.

Reika leaned against the glass and massaged her temples gently. She felt weightless and clumsy, and the impulse to sink to the bottom of the phone booth threatened to overwhelm her, but she stayed standing. Motoki might have invaded this much of her day, but he wasn't going earn her surrender so easily.

The problem was, of course, that she wanted to call him. She had gotten too used to hearing his voice when she was upset. They fought so rarely that she seldom had this problem, and even when they did argue, Motoki almost always called her before she had to cave. All she wanted was his arms around her, whispering that everything was going to be all right.

But she couldn't bear to hear him lie.

"You are an idiot," she informed herself solemnly. "No person living or dead could rival the stupidity you have so aptly displayed."

"I somehow doubt that."

Reika gasped and clutched her chest, her eyes flying open as an afterthought. Her gaze swept over the intruder hurriedly, assessing the danger.

She quickly realized he was an unlikely threat. There were dozens of people all around them, and besides, with his long hair and expensive-looking clothes, she doubted he wanted to rob her.

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," the stranger chuckled in a tone that didn't sound very apologetic.

Reika nodded, still breathing hard, unable to ignore the fact that he blocked the only exit. "It's my fault for standing here this long, isn't it? I expect you need to use the phone." She moved forward, hoping it would be a subtle enough indication that she was beginning to feel shut in.

"Actually, I was wondering what such an attractive woman was doing looking so depressed," he said, flashing a bright smile.

Reika barely resisted the urge to curse. He wasn't a menace, just an annoyance. She was tempted to use her usual excuse and say she had to go meet her boyfriend somewhere, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to do it without bursting into tears.

"I was thinking about making a phone call," Reika said, her tone appropriately frigid. "But I've decided not to. So if you wouldn't mind--"

His hand darted out so quickly she nearly shouted again, thinking he was going for her throat. He stopped just short, index finger poised beneath the gold locket hanging around her neck. He flicked the pendant open effortlessly, raising an eyebrow when he saw its contents. "Is this who you're thinking about calling?"

She stared at him, trying very hard not to choke. She had no idea how to react to this brazen invasion of her space. It didn't help that he'd chosen to point out the locket of all things. She hadn't even realized she'd put it on that morning. An old habit dying hard.

Panicked, she thought of Motoki and wondered what would happen if he came down the street at this exact moment. Would he assume that Reika was heartless, that she was already moving on? Or would he still be able to read the fear in her face and come to her rescue? And would he remember when he had given her that locket on their first anniversary? How nervous he'd been that she would think it was a stupid gift; how happy she'd been to finally have a boyfriend who understood girls liked sappy things? Would he remember that she'd cried? Would he remember that was the first night she told him she loved him, having finally decided that it was true?

Reika's throat started to close, but she kept her head. She would push this guy away and start yelling, attract a crowd, and hope that someone was good enough to break his nose for her. After all, she didn't have a boyfriend to do it anymore.

Just as she was about to move, the man released the necklace. "I guess it is." He gave her a small wave and then turned to go, leaving her alone in the phone booth.

Reika staggered outside as if she'd been locked in an airless cell. She wrapped her fingers around the locket, closed it and pulled down on the chain. She cradled it, wanting both to protect it and wanting to tear it away.

"Bastard," she whispered, trembling. She checked to see if anyone else had noticed and been ready to spring into action, but was quickly disappointed. Everyone was impassive and going about their business, all unaware that anything had happened. It made her wonder if maybe the encounter had been an overreaction or even a hallucination.

She didn't know what to think when she found that the stranger had vanished as if he had never existed.

-----

After another half hour or so of discussing, less pressing issues, Ami and Rei departed. Mamoru was staying to speak to Motoki again, although he was still preoccupied with Usagi, who had moved on to lunch.

Luna padded after the two girls as they exited, leaping onto Rei's shoulder this time. She glanced around to see if anyone was looking and, satisfied, hissed, "Ami, do me a favor and circle around to Rei's other side. I need to talk to you both about something."

Once again, Ami scarcely hesitated before complying, her brow furrowed in concern. She turned her head, looking at Rei but addressing Luna. "What's the matter?"

"I want to ask you both if you've noticed anything odd about Mamoru lately."

A deaf man couldn't have missed Rei's snort. "Would you like me to give you a list?"

Luna glanced at her and dryly remarked, "Turning you down for a date is not the sort of thing I had in mind."

Rei sputtered for a moment and valiantly fought the flush that spread from her neck. "That's not what I meant at all," she insisted, although Luna very much doubted that this was the case. "He seems distracted."

Ami nodded, bringing her fist up to her face to chew on a knuckle. "And he still looks like he's not getting enough sleep, which is odd. The last few incidents haven't been late."

Luna's ears twitched irritably. "Yes, well that might be because of the dreams."

Rei straightened, curious. "What kind of dreams?"

"Bad ones I expect," Luna muttered. "He's woken up shouting a few times. Sometimes he's quite calm, but he can never go back to sleep afterwards. He's been taking pills, but they aren't doing much good."

"Clearly," Ami said. "It sounds to me as if he's just stressed right now. Once he figures out how to deal with everything--"

"If it was stress, it should have been worse when he was in school," Luna interrupted, shaking her head. "If anything, he should be feeling a bit more… well, not relaxed, but some variant of that."

Rei appeared dubious, frowning. "I don't know. The stakes have risen since the end of the term. There's still a lot we don't know about Nephrite, and he didn't handle the thing between Ami and I at all well."

"Not to mention the fact that he's clearly blaming himself for what happened to Usagi," Ami sighed, massaging her forehead.

Rei rolled her eyes. "I know. I wanted to kick him so badly when he started that."

"He takes things on himself," Ami murmured with a helpless shrug. "It's unendingly frustrating, but there it is."

"If we could snap him out of this guilt-trip, I think it would help, but I don't see that happening any time soon. He's too stubborn," Rei supplied.

Luna flicked her tail back and forth, becoming increasingly agitated by their lack of response. "I still feel like there's more to this than meets the eye. Something about the dreams in particular strikes me as odd."

"Well, it's entirely possible Mamoru has some other problems we don't know about," Ami voiced quietly.

Rei blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"We haven't known him very long," Ami continued. "It may not seem like it, but we actually know very little about him, do we? We know he lives alone, we know he drives a motorcycle--"

"_He drives a motorcycle_?"

Ami smiled, ignoring Rei. "But my point is we don't know many concrete facts about Mamoru's life. We know his personality, and that's really all we need to know to learn how to fight alongside him, but his history isn't something we're privy to."

Luna frowned, remembering when she'd asked Mamoru about his parents. Normally, he avoided subjects he didn't want to discuss with some finesse, but he'd been rather harsh with her that time. She'd assumed later that it was the strain of the girls fighting and the early morning, but now she was more certain than ever that she'd struck a nerve. She was apprehensive about the lack of photographs in his apartment and the way his answering machine seemed to only feature the occasional telemarketer and Motoki. The meaning of these pieces became clearer with each passing day, and she was quite sure she was not going to like the picture once it was complete.

"We'll keep an eye on him," Rei decided, her manner comfortingly authoritative. "See if there's anything we can do to make him feel better without him noticing."

Luna thanked both of them for their support and tuned out of the conversation as they moved on to lighter topics. In spite of their assurances, she couldn't shake the restlessness that hung about her. She wanted to do be active and inquisitive, wanted to fix the problem instead of gather more research. The impulse was unlike her, but the situation made her feel sour.

But in the end, there was nothing she could do unless he decided to let her in, and she knew that was not due to happen for a very long time.

-----

Nephrite arrived back at D-point with a hand in his pocket and a frown on his face. He hadn't taken three steps before he allowed his disguise to dissipate, revealing his normal uniform along with the weight of the still unfamiliar epaulettes. His mouth watered at the thought of brandy, something he felt was sorely needed after that near disaster, but the whole ordeal had left the rest of his body itching for movement. So rather than head straight for his chambers, Nephrite took a detour, wandering through the murky tunnels of the Dark Kingdom and hoping the youma and Zoisite all knew to avoid him.

Things had not gone at all as planned. Something had been off about the encounter. He'd felt as though adrenaline was seeping into his blood slowly, not prompting a flight or fight response, but sending restless shudders through his muscles. It unsettled him foremost, but he could not deny the tiny thrill that had sung out in his bones or the way his power seemed to huddle strong and ready at his fingertips, allowing him to leave the mark on a locket far more quickly than he had ever been able to before.

The stars had chosen Nishimura Reika for a reason. He had assumed it was related to her silly lovers' spat, but now he was beginning to wonder if there was more to the situation, or at least to her, than he had realized. Perhaps the stars had neglected to divulge vital information.

Nephrite frowned and came to a stop. Indeed, that could be the case. While the celestial bodies scarcely ever lied, they were fond of trickery and misdirection. It wouldn't surprise him in the least to find that he was playing this game half-blind.

Nephrite growled subtly in the back of his throat and retraced his steps. The need for alcohol was going to have to wait. He needed to find out what this signified, and time was running out.

-----

Hours after leaving Motoki to suffer through the rest of his day, Mamoru was not at all surprised to hear a lethargic knock at his door, and he didn't have to check to peephole to know who it was.

He sighed around his mouthful of rice, and looked at Luna meaningfully. She straightened from where she had been lapping up her water, disbelief written all over her face. "No."

"Oh, yes," Mamoru grumbled, pushing himself away from the table. "Why do you think I made enough for two?"

"Leftovers," Luna answered sensibly.

"I had a feeling he was going to come back over later."

Luna followed him out, whiskers set so that her prim expression could not be mistaken for amusement. "Doesn't he have his own apartment?"

Yes, he did, Mamoru thought grudgingly. However, just because he had a flat to himself didn't mean he wanted to stay there alone. Reika was right about one thing: when Motoki was upset, he didn't want to be by himself. He might be tempted to brood, which was entirely too like Mamoru for Motoki's taste. There was no telling what psychological damage could result from that.

Mamoru made it to the door and undid the series of locks. He opened the door with an expression of concern plastered on his face. The look on Motoki's face was enough to make him wince. "Hey."

Motoki didn't even lift his head to make eye contact. "Hey."

Mamoru stepped out of the doorway, silently drawing Motoki into the apartment. He knew they were in for another long night.

-----

Reika had an even harder time concentrating at work for the rest of the day. Her neck ached from the number of times she whipped her head around to focus on ghosts of movement she felt brushing against her skirt or saw dancing in her peripheral vision. She'd felt hypersensitive for the rest of the day, strangely more awake. She swore she heard hissing in her ear, whispering of freedom. Once she'd even heard a scream.

Reika massaged the back of her neck with trembling fingers. She'd never done well with no sleep. It always left her feeling unnatural, but this was more severe than anything she'd ever experienced. She wanted nothing more than to get out of this place and collapse in her bed and sleep until the day ceased to exist.

_release _

Reika spun around again, eyes darting, searching for whoever was taunting her. Her sight was sharp in the half-light, and she caught a strong whiff of another employee's perfume, but no one was there. A word hadn't been said.

There was still much to be done, but she couldn't stand it anymore. It was stuffy inside the boutique, too clogged with cologne samples and disinfectant. She'd never realized how it was to breathe in there.

Reika slapped the garment into place, turning smartly on her heel. "I'm leaving. Everything's in order out here."

"All right, Reika," the manager answered dully, pouring over the books to account for the money in their register. "See you tomorrow."

Reika said nothing in return. She merely grabbed her coat from the rack and threw it over her shoulders, not bothering to slip her arms into the sleeves. The door chimes jingled merrily as she passed beneath them, predictably out of synch with her mood. She only took a few steps before pausing to inhale deeply. The air was hardly fresher, but the staleness vanished and left her feeling strangely liberated.

She stood there, breathing for a very long time. She covered her face with her hands and struggled to reconcile the day's events. Strange men in phonebooths. Dark whispers from nowhere. Motoki gone.

"Damn it," Reika swore, throwing her hands down to her sides. She started walking, keeping her gaze close to the ground. The lights made her head hurt, and the noise was than capable of giving her a migraine. She felt certain that every sound was amplified, and she couldn't help but shake her head violently as if she could knock her hearing loose.

There was something else different about being away from the shop, among the throngs of commuters. Everything felt so much more alive outside, enough to make the hairs on her arms stand at attention. Tiny bumps forming as if the temperature had suddenly dropped. But she actually felt warmer, and her heart was pumping frantically in her chest. She could feel the blood moving through her veins.

If Motoki was with her, he could talk her down, but he wasn't there anymore.

"Son of a bitch!" she snarled, turning and stamping her foot. She closed her eyes and dug her hands into her hair. She felt the urge to rip and tear, and it frightened her for a moment, reminding her of nightmares she'd had as a child, dreams that had driven her into therapy. She thought she tasted blood in her mouth and gagged, throwing herself into the side of a building.

She took deep, steadying breaths, willing away the memories and acute sensations that were making her body feel as if it was too much her own. She'd never make it home at this rate. She was going to have to figure out what was wrong on her own and shove it to the side so she could keep walking.

She'd gone without sleep before. She knew what happened when she pulled all-nighters, and this was not it. All that needed to be done was find the anomaly and root it out.

But of course that answer was all too easy.

Somehow or another, Motoki had done this to her. He'd found the letter. He'd started the argument. He was the one who walked out of her apartment. He was the catalyst.

But how could she fix that?

Reika opened her eyes and looked around, and for the first time in hours and saw something very significant indeed.

Men.

A lot of men. So many men filled her vision that Reika found herself a little aghast at just how many of them existed. It had been so long since she'd been able to open her eyes like this. She'd almost forgotten there were others who could catch her eyes.

Her heartbeat began to slow, the lightning in her skin ebbing away. She brought a hand up to her chest, and she knew.

There was life after Motoki. She didn't have to go home and mope. She didn't have to weigh the pros and cons of calling him to see if they could work things out. They didn't even have to work things out. She was a beautiful woman with a lot of options. Even Motoki couldn't disagree with her. He'd sometimes seemed a little amazed to be with her. She'd found it endearing at the time, but suddenly she found it annoying. Amazing, how she hadn't even noticed before.

_free me _

This time Reika heard the voice and was not afraid. She finally understood what it was. It was her own voice, telling her what she needed. Motoki had been holding her back. She needed to break free and break him apart.

"Good-bye, Motoki," Reika whispered darkly, turning and walking in the direction of the nearest bar. "Hello, freedom."

-----

"Men," Luna muttered for the third time since she'd finally gotten Mamoru to realize she wanted out of the apartment. They'd broken out the hard liquor within moments of Motoki's arrival, and that had made him too soused to notice anything other than alcohol. Seeing how many marshmallows Motoki could fit into his mouth unendingly stupid and juvenile. She had no patience for idiocy at the moment.

She was going to make Mamoru sorely regret his drunken antics in the morning by meowing as loudly as her lungs would allow.

Luna rounded the last corner and looked to be sure that she was alone. It was still early, but this section of Juuban tended to vacate quickly in the evenings. There were very few restaurants or bars in the immediate area, so there was little point in hanging around. She wasn't sure if that was luck or just good planning.

After a few moments, she arrived in front of the Crown Arcade. A hard look and a quick flash of the crescent moon on her forehead forced the steel barricade to rise. With that done, Luna calmly slunk forward, nodding at the doors in thanks for opening without nearly so much fuss. They closed behind her, and the steel barricade descended.

Luna jogged down an aisle until she reached the third Sailor V game console on the left. When she'd been told how to get in touch with Central Control, she'd thought their sense of humor had been irritatingly obvious, but it had worked well enough so far. She hopped up onto the shelf and reached out a paw, touching the console to activate it. After punching in a series of instructions, a familiar voice filled her ears.

"Password."

"The masked man is always oblivious when he plays with fire."

"But does he know when he is skating on thin ice?" the automated voice asked.

"Only when the cat tells him," Luna answered on cue.

There was a pause and a series of beeps, as well as a quick flash that she assumed was scanning the area to be sure no one had a gun to her head. Finally, the voice returned, this time sounding a bit less like a computer, but no less processed. "Welcome back, Luna. We trust you're here to give us a report on their progress?"

Luna sighed testily, sure this was going to take awhile. "Well, the good news is that Mercury and Mars aren't trying to kill each other anymore." She paused. "I suppose they never really were, but whatever the case, the fight's over and they're acting as if nothing ever happened."

"This is excellent. We commend you on your ability to sort out the issues between them. As you know, a rift between the Sailor Senshi could have been devastating."

Luna's whiskers twitched. She hadn't done anything to solve their problem. They'd worked it out for themselves, and she was extremely proud of them for that. But if she passed such information along, she was liable to be lectured about neglecting her duties. As if she'd been sitting around making herself silly on catnip while Ami and Rei sniped.

"Yes, well," Luna muttered uncomfortably. "Of course, now that that's taken care of, I can get back to worrying about Mamoru."

"Does he give you cause to worry?" they asked, not sounding the least bit concerned. "Does he still rush into battles he has no business fighting?"

Luna snorted. "He hasn't gotten a chance to lately. He didn't even make it to the last fight."

"Ah," Central Control intoned in that voice that hinted at an omniscience Luna knew was complete rubbish. "He is not handling this well, we expect."

"Not exactly," Luna understated. "But that is not my only cause for concern. You see, I think he has some sort of sleeping disorder. He has quite a number of bad dreams."

There was a pause that Luna couldn't discern the importance of. "Dreams, you say?"

"Yes, he--" She stopped, hearing static from the other end of the communication link. She could almost mistake it for whispering. "Are you there?" No answer. "Central Control?"

"Sorry, err… Strong wind," they answered. "How long have the dreams been happening?"

Luna frowned, considering. Actually, now that she thought about it, the first time she'd been in his apartment, he'd been muttering something about a dream. What was it he had said?

_"Why now, after all this time?" _

"Since I met him," Luna responded with utmost certainty. "But he's had them before. Years before."

There was more static, but this time Luna didn't panic. It wasn't as if they could do anything about the wind.

"There is a possibility something from his past may be bothering him," Central Control finally stated. "It could cloud his reason and result in a mistake in battle. And as we are sure you realize in the current climate, mistakes are ill-afforded."

"I know," Luna said gravely. "They all know. It's actually put all of them on edge I think, but with Mamoru--"

"We understand," they interrupted. "We will look into it. Watch him as you always do, and be wary of this media situation."

"Of course."

"If that is all, please give us the new password for our next meeting."

Luna brought a paw up to her chin thoughtfully, mimicking the human gesture out of habit. It disturbed Mamoru, and she enjoyed teasing him every now and again. After a moment, she smiled.

"The wise cat says, 'Sake and marshmallows do not mix.'"

-----

Mamoru was sick of it.

Motoki was his best friend, but he was not incapable of grating Mamoru's last nerve. As it turned out, he was actually quite good at that. After all, Motoki was a pathetic drunk, and Mamoru had been privileged to listen to four solid hours of the blond man lamenting his troubles before they'd both passed out.

The logical course of action would be to find Reika and facilitate a reunion. The reality of the situation, however, was that Mamoru hadn't been able to do anything for his best friend except pour alcohol down his throat. How could he be expected to help two people when he was useless with one?

It was now mid-afternoon, and Mamoru had been wandering around for hours, avoiding his own apartment and his house guest. Finally, he'd decided that he was going to have to bite the bullet and at least try to get Reika back to his apartment. Then he could leave it up to the two of them to sort out their problems. So he changed direction and headed towards the boutique, bound and determined to fix this mess.

But as he rounded the corner, he heard something that made the pain between his ears spike in intensity.

"Oh, Chokichi, you're so funny!"

Mamoru knew that voice. Worse still, he knew that particular inflection. That was Reika's flirty voice being used on someone whose name was definitely not Motoki.

Mamoru quickly sought them out and stalked forward, looking as threatening as possible. The pair were leaning up against a car, practically glued together. He would have felt ill if he weren't so determined to be frightening.

When he reached them, he cleared his throat purposefully, catching their attention. The man-who-was-not-Motoki looked ready to run for his life the minute he saw Mamoru; Reika looked strangely pleased.

"Mamoru!" she exclaimed, not bothering to drop her flirtatious tone. "What a nice surprise. I almost never see you around this part of town."

He completely ignored this greeting and continued staring Chokichi down. The redhead quickly got the message and extricated himself from Reika's embrace. "I, err... just remembered something. That I have to do. Alone. And not here." He took off, speed-walking away from the boutique and waving over his shoulder. "Bye, Reika!"

"Uh-huh," Reika muttered, not taking her eyes off Mamoru. She reached forward and pushed her fingers into his hair, considerably lessening the distance between them. "I absolutely love what you're doing with your hair."

"I didn't wash it this morning," he deadpanned.

"Well, it's very sexy," she confided softly.

Mamoru cringed and pushed her away. "Reika, if you're trying to make Motoki jealous, don't. He's miserable enough as it is, and I don't need you permanently making him into a pitiful blob ripening on my couch."

Reika waited a moment before responding, her eyes remaining fixed on his. "Did I ever tell you that you have the most amazing eyes?"

"And it really isn't going to work with me," Mamoru said, taking another step back. "Jesus, Reika, I thought you were a better person than this."

Reika rolled her eyes dismissively. "Mamoru, you're gorgeous, but you're not very bright."

His eyebrow twitched.

"I'm not trying to make Motoki jealous," Reika insisted, flipping her significantly more styled hair over her shoulder. "Why would I want to go back to that stick in the mud?"

Mamoru straightened, completely stunned. "Stick in the mud? How in the—"

Reika continued undeterred. "Motoki was all wrong for me. Sure, he was a nice guy, but he was kind of beneath me, you know? Since we've broken up, I've come to realize that I'm an incredibly gorgeous, extremely intelligent, and downright lovely woman. I don't need to spend the rest of my life languishing with the King of Average."

Mamoru's jaw began to clench. He imagined it acted as a kind of barrier to keep back the actual things he wanted to say to her. "Well, as long as you haven't gotten a big head."

"And just how big is yours?" Reika purred, moving forward like a lioness ready to pounce.

Mamoru immediately pedaled backwards. "I am going to pretend you didn't just say that. Actually, I think I'll just pretend that I didn't see or hear any of this because clearly you're going through post-relationship insanity. Don't worry. Motoki won't hear about any of this."

Mamoru knew that it was time to leave; really, there had never been a time to stay. So he turned around and tried to walk away from Reika as quickly as possible. But before he managed so much as a step, she grabbed his arm and, with a surprising amount of force, spun him around so that his back was up against the car. And suddenly she was all over him, melded to every angle of his body.

"What if I want him to know about it?" Reika hissed in a low voice. "Sing it from the rooftops or scream it in his ear."

"Not really a song and dance kind of guy," Mamoru snapped, attempting to peel her off. "And I don't know what game you're playing at, but he isn't going to hear a single word about anything that just happened. Now if you would kindly get off—"

"Oh, but it's so much fun. For me," Reika insisted. "I want you to tell him, Mamoru. I want him to know that I'm not curled up in some corner of my apartment, bawling until I vomit." Her green eyes gleamed, her lips curving into a grotesque smile. "I'm breaking free."

Mamoru placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and started to push, trying not to hurt her and finding that she was making that goal next to impossible to accomplish. "You're a wreck," he told her seriously. "Get help."

Reika threw her arms around his neck. "You were always more in my league, Mamoru."

"Reika, I'm serious. Get—"

Mamoru final plea halted when he caught a familiar silhouette in his peripheral vision. At first, he denied what his brain was telling him. There was no way he could be so supremely unlucky as to be caught in this particular position by her of all people. But when he heard a quiet grunt and saw a wind-sail of ebony hair flip into the air, Mamoru realized his luck was, in fact, complete shit.

"Damn it," Mamoru muttered. He took a brief moment to give Reika a fierce look before snapping, "You have no idea how difficult you have just made my life." Then, before she could respond, he moved both of his hands onto the hood of the car and pushed, sliding backwards and at last managing to escape the clutches of Motoki's obviously deranged ex-girlfriend. Without wasting another moment, he jogged after the girl who had only just vanished around the corner.

"Rei!" he yelled just as soon as he caught sight of her again. Her back stiffened as if someone had just shoved a knife into it, but she barely took a moment to pause. She picked up her pace, slipping through the crowd and forcing him to issue a number of hasty apologies in his pursuit of her. At last he grasped her arm and pulled her around to face him, although the look she gave him almost made him wish he'd let her go. "Stop. Listen to me."

Rei flipped her hair in a way he was sure she must have practiced and spat, "I have absolutely nothing to say to you."

"Actually, the last thing I want you to do right now is talk."

Her sour look shifted into something more menacing, and he suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for their enemies. "Are you trying to make me set your hair on fire?"

Mamoru dragged his free hand down his face. "What is it with you people and my hair?"

"Could you please just go ahead and tell me that I didn't see what I thought I just saw?"

Mamoru sighed. "Rei, it was not what it looked like."

In an enviable display of aptitude for such situations, Rei's foot shot out and struck his kneecap, making him collapse and lose his grip on her arm. "Liar!" she shouted, stalking off.

Mamoru bit his tongue to extinguish a few choice words he would have very much liked to have said to her at that moment. Instead, he forced himself to his feet and limped after her. "Is that really a reaction you're going to be proud of ten years down the road?"

"No, but it sure felt great."

Mamoru fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Why do you automatically assume that I'm lying? And if you throw a 'men are scum' line in my face, Rei, so help me—"

"Men are not scum," Rei snapped, waving her hand sharply in his direction. "My father is scum. You are scum. But unfortunately, I cannot defame the entire gender because I do plan on getting married one day."

"Well, that's almost reasonable," Mamoru murmured, reaching down to rub his throbbing knee.

"Why did you have to lie?" Rei demanded, suddenly coming to a complete stop. Mamoru thought he heard her voice break, but decided it was probably his pain playing tricks on his other senses. "You didn't have to. You could have just said… that you weren't interested. You didn't have to tell me that you don't even like that sort of thing and then have me find out like _that_— God, you are such a jerk!"

"First of all," Mamoru began, "I didn't lie. Second of all, I should not have to explain myself to a fourteen-year-old who acts like she's two when she doesn't get her way. What I do with my life isn't any of your business. You're acting like you have some sort of claim over me, which is completely disturbing and entirely out of the realm of possibility."

"Stop it." Rei blinked several times and folded her arms across her chest. "I know it's not… I know that it's stupid, but that does not change the fact that it is absolutely infuriating to see you all over some slut in the middle of the street."

"Hey!" Mamoru snapped, still feeling some residual protectiveness of Reika, if only for Motoki's sake. "Don't say that. You don't even know her."

"Please. I saw what color lipstick she was wearing," Rei snapped. "Besides, there's only one kind of girl who acts like that in public during the day."

"Look," Mamoru said in as soothing a tone as he could muster. "She's not usually like that. And what's more, she's not… She's my best friend's girlfriend. You remember the blond guy at the arcade? You saw him the other day."

Rei nodded slowly, and she looked decidedly skeptical about this version of events. "And she was on top of you because she's blind?"

Mamoru straightened, stretching out his still throbbing knee. "It's complicated. They're going through… something at the moment. Supposedly they've broken up, and maybe after that display they ought to stay that way. Anyway, they aren't together, he's practically destroyed over it, and Reika is apparently dealing with it by throwing herself at every male in the general area. Believe me, it was not the sort of position I enjoy finding myself in."

Rei stared at him for a moment, still unsure if she was going to believe his story. "If I find out that you're lying, you'll be ashes inside of a minute."

Mamoru snorted. "Well, I can't accuse you of being indirect."

"And this doesn't mean I'm happy," Rei added.

"I'm not going to ask for the impossible. I just want to make sure you're not going to kick me again."

Rei shifted her weight, not quite looking at him. "Not at the moment."

"I'll take it."

The pair of them stood their, all too aware of the awkward silence that hung between them. That issue covered, neither of them knew how to part or even if they should. Mamoru found himself pinching the bridge of his nose, once again all too aware that he wasn't a social expert if he wasn't looking for a job, a grade, or the occasional one-night stand.

Finally, Rei brought it to an end and cleared her throat. "Do you think we should all meet tomorrow?"

Mamoru blinked, taken aback by this sudden change of subject. "Is there any reason we should?"

Rei shrugged. "I think Ami said there was something she wanted to talk about."

Mamoru shoved his hands into his pockets, considering the suggestion. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Can we do it at the shrine?"

Rei shook her head. "Possible investors are going to be stopping by."

"Shouldn't you be there for that?"

"Grandpa has learned that it's best to keep me away from pretentious, spoiled, overly rich patrons. I have a tendency to say what's on my mind."

"I can see how that could negatively affect the cash flow," Mamoru concluded. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Will you call Ami? I don't want to get yelled at again for interrupting her reading."

"I will," Rei said, waving slightly. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye," Mamoru returned, turning to go. He walked several meters, not quite content with any of the situations he had found himself in, but feeling as if one of them had almost been resolved. On a whim, he turned his head to see if Rei was still there and saw that she was, her back pressed against the wall of a building and her head hanging low. He couldn't see her face with her hair falling around her, but her posture told him enough. It made him wonder if maybe he had heard that break in her voice.

He thought about turning around, but he knew better. Instead, he pretended he hadn't seen and continued walking, determined not to examine anything.

-----

The only way to move past him was to find someone else. What did it matter to anyone how many someone elses she found?

She saw the looks the other women in the shop were giving her. She heard them whispering about how she used to stay away from the male customers and let the older women deal with them. She felt the glares when she leaned forward and whispered dirty things, when her fingers grazed the stiff fabric of button-down shirts, when her eyelashes fluttered just so. She knew everything, and she didn't care because this was moving on.

So was spending the night in the same nearby bar, passing herself from lap to lap, winding ties around her finders. A constant tease. Promises were never made, contact was never established. She flitted from body to body, putting as much distance between her and Motoki as she could.

She wondered if Mamoru had caved by now, if Motoki knew. It was the only reason she'd bothered with him in the first place. She wasn't stupid enough to think she could come between friends. She wanted to twist Motoki with the knowledge of her growing freedom.

She never lost count of how many lay between what she had possessed and what she deserved. The junior politician who drank lemon martinis with a bobbing, bulging Adam's apple was number twenty-three, and she was on the prowl for the next. There was nothing wrong with twenty-three; he was probably a suitable mate, but that wasn't what this exercise was about.

The more men wanted her, the more powerful she was. She hadn't slept since Motoki left her, and she didn't feel tired. As far as she was concerned, she could ride this adrenaline high for the rest of her life, pushing boys into walls and leaving them panting after her. It was the ultimate rush.

This was the way to live. This was better than food, better than wine, better than sex. This was the closest she would ever come to being a god, and maybe in her own small way, she was becoming one. A transformation was happening. She felt her body reacting to it, her blood rushing and a pulsing heat radiating from her chest. It almost felt as if she could make things appear out of thin air. That kind of magic.

_glory is coming _

Reika inhaled, arching her back against the bar. The voice no longer frightened her for it spoke nothing but the truth. It had asked for freedom, the first step. The next movement was coming, and then, only God knew what she would be capable of.

Door opened. Door closed. She smiled.

"Number twenty-four."

-----

Twenty-four hours later, Mamoru was still sick of it.

"Why don't you just call her?"

Motoki let out the most depressing sigh Mamoru had ever witnessed. "No."

"And why not?"

Motoki dragged his dirty dishtowel over the countertop without his usual enthusiasm. "She won't answer."

Mamoru blinked very slowly. "Have you actually tried calling her?"

Motoki looked like a child confronted with sound logic. "No."

"Then how do you know she won't pick up."

"'Cause she won't."

Mamoru ripped open a sugar packet with more vehemence than was necessary and dumped it into his already over-sweetened coffee. "You are the most pathetic human being alive. You do realize this?"

"Yeah."

There was a great deal more that could be said in response to this, but Mamoru was momentarily distracted by the sound of the doors opening. He was expecting Ami and Rei to arrive any moment, but the only people who came in were two pre-pubescent boys looking to spend all their money on war games.

Then Mamoru saw what was going on behind them and swore. "Hell." His mind whirled, wondering if there was any way he could prevent this confrontation from occurring. He was about to distract Motoki by spilling coffee all over the place when one of the men stepped just close enough to the sensor to open the doors.

Motoki glanced over on instinct. He stopped. He took in what he saw. And then he turned a very funny color and looked decidedly less pathetic.

"Be right back," he grumbled, hopping over the counter and tossing his apron to the floor.

Mamoru quickly got up and followed silently. There was no way he was leaving Motoki alone with the now viper-like ex-girlfriend and her entourage.

Motoki didn't seem to notice. He just stalked outside, where Reika was laughing and tripping over her own feet. She tossed her hair, allowing her to catch sight of Motoki. She seemed to falter and land in Buffoon #1's arms by accident, but Mamoru knew that had known women who feigned clumsiness just for this experience. He'd always thought better of Reika.

"Oh, hi!" she practically shouted, her voice shrill and grating. "What a nice surprise. Boys, this is my old boyfriend. The schmuck."

In the time it took Mamoru to blink, Motoki changed from a man who had just been emotionally punched in the stomach to a man perfectly willing and able to punch someone else's stomach. He'd never been a particularly intimidating force, but even Mamoru was surprised by the venom in Motoki's voice. "Schmuck or not, so help me God, I will rip you both three new assholes apiece if you don't get off her. Now."

Mamoru had never been so grateful for a sudden mood swing in his life. Both of Reika's companions seemed to think that it was more important that they go home and sober up than fight for the affections of one woman. This gave Mamoru hope for the remainder of his gender, so he viewed their retreating backs with a measure of satisfaction and relief. However, there was still a very large problem to resolve in front of him.

Reika pouted and hopped onto the hood of a parked car, crossing her legs in a manner that would have been fetching in other circumstances. "You chased them away. That's very rude, you know."

Motoki clenched both of his fists, his knuckles white and his frame trembling. "I don't believe you. I have been… I have been an absolute wreck, and you've been out barhopping?"

"It's called moving on, baby. Independence," Reika informed him in a sickly sweet voice. "And speaking of moving, I really can't sit here looking pretty all day. Then again, I'm sure you'd just follow me down the streets like some lost puppy dog until you've had your say. Have at it, then. Just make it quick."

At first, Mamoru thought Motoki would crumble beneath the dog analogy, and for a moment, it looked as though he was right. But just as her arrogance was about to crush him, Motoki pulled himself together. He relaxed his muscles, straightening his hunched shoulders, and looked her directly in the eye.

"Reika, what's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," she insisted. "I've become better, far better than I could have ever been attached to you."

Motoki shook his head. "What are you doing, Reika?" he asked, his voice sympathetic. "Are you compensating for that business with the letter?"

Reika snorted and examined her nails. They looked as though they'd been freshly painted. Mamoru was used to seeing them chipped from field work. "As if I care about studying abroad anymore."

Mamoru and Motoki balked. "What?" they chorused.

Reika sniffed. "I think I'm just a little too fabulous to be trotting around Equatorial Guinea in khakis, don't you agree?"

Mamoru narrowed his eyes. Something about Reika was definitely not right. Up to this point, he'd assumed what Motoki had proposed: Reika was trying to assert her independence and confidence in the wake of the break-up. It was intervention worthy and disturbing, but this added layer to her personality made him wonder.

"The Reika I know wouldn't give up an opportunity like that for eye candy," Mamoru murmured quietly.

Motoki nodded, looking frantic. "You're starting to scare me, Reika."

"Already scaring me," Mamoru muttered, looking around. He couldn't be sure if he was right, not without Rei. Haruna and the Senator had been frenetic, absolutely crazed when infected by the Dark Kingdom's magic. Reika was acting oddly, but it wasn't the same. She seemed perfectly in control, alarmingly so. She'd always been capable, but now there was a kind of cold competence that hung around her shoulders. It wasn't flattering.

Reika frowned, displeased. "But I don't want you to be upset, Motoki." The frown quickly shifted into something far more menacing. Her teeth glinted under the sunlight. "I want you to suffer. Are you suffering, dear? It would make me so very happy."

Motoki shook his head, swallowing. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You held me back," she snapped. "You kept me in your little cage and used this as the key," she claimed, grasping the locket that had always hung about her throat. "This is the symbol of what we had, and it's like a fire on my skin, driving me forward. I am electric. I am superior. I am moving away from what I once was. Becoming."

That made Mamoru sure of it. Reika may not have fit the usual pattern, but she was definitely Nephrite's latest victim. The locket had to be the cursed object.

"Something's wrong with her."

He nodded, not having to turn around to know that Ami, Luna, and Rei were standing at his side. "I think it's her necklace."

Rei shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The level of dark energy around this place is unbelievable. She's about to peak, and I know I don't have enough time to disarm it."

Ami's lips pressed together, her face paling significantly as she inspected the arcade. It was full, and even though the battle was about to take place outside, they could easily be caught in the crossfire. "We need to get them out of here."

"Fire alarm," Luna muttered as subtly as possible.

The three of them exchanged wary glances. Ami hesitated, reluctant to involve herself in something so blatantly illegal. Mamoru jerked his thumb back towards Motoki and Reika, whose discussion was becoming progressively more heated. That only left Rei, who really had no excuse.

She threw her hands up and hissed, "I have to do everything around here."

She stalked off rather obviously, but Motoki and Reika were not deterred.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, and Mamoru was fairly certain it was a question that had already been thrown out and deflected.

"Because I deserve more than you could ever hope to give," Reika spat, leaning forward and nearly coming down from her perch on the car.

"No. There's something else. I know it."

Reika was obviously about to offer up some snappy retort, but she stopped short. Mamoru watched something more change in her. Something in her eyes that he could perceive without pinning down, sense without seeing. Both he and Ami simultaneously took a step back, and Luna arched her back, hissing.

"You're right," Reika said, her voice a far-off whisper. She sounded older now, much older, and it made the skin want to crawl off his bones. "There is something else. Something that's been inside me for a very long time."

Mamoru was feeling sick again, something in Reika's voice making his blood feel wrong in his veins. "Motoki," he called out, his voice thick with warning. "I think we should--"

"I've always felt different," Reika continued. "All my teachers told I was smarter, but I never believed them. I think I'm beginning to understand why I see things more clearly than most people."

A strange smile crossed her lips. "I think I know why I sometimes have dreams about peeling white flesh off the bones of children."

Ami shuddered beside him.

"This is wrong," Mamoru whispered. "This isn't what's supposed to happen."

Reika continued, her eyes widening. "The screams were so delicious."

Now Motoki finally had the good sense to back away. His mouth bobbed open for a moment, a hoarse whistle escaping between the spaces of his teeth. When he did speak, it shook like a twig in a thunderstorm. "No. I know Reika, and you're not her."

"There's something else in here," Reika said plainly, her hands reaching up to her chest. "It wants to wake up. The whispers… I was wrong. Now I know what they really mean."

The fire alarm rang out.

"I think I'll set it free."

-----

Nephrite watched from across the street. The time it took for her energy to crest had been swifter, and there was palpable tension in the air. Sometimes the space where a war would be fought sensed the blood soon to be spilt and changed. It took on an aura of foreboding, either keeping people away or driving them to it. This street had that feeling.

He wasn't ruffled easily, but the shift made him uneasy. He watched the scene unfold with intense scrutiny. This victim was not like the others. She was nothing like the others. The behavioral differences were easy to spot, a calmness where others had raged like a lightning inferno. But there was something more profound than that, something he did not recognize until it was too late for him to change course.

Her shadow was deeper.

The moment hit, and the whole street was filled with blood-light so intense even he had to look away. The patrons proceeding lazily out of the arcade soon became a deluge of bodies, pushing through the doors and nearly mowing down those who surrounded his quarry. A scream filled the air, one filled with terror and ecstasy. For a moment, he felt like it was ripping something inside him apart. He covered his ears and grunted, ducking behind the structure on the roof that held the door. Still, he could not help but dare to peer around its edge and witness the monster he had created.

Out of the locket on her chest, a darkness more palpable than he had seen before emerged. It towered over the group, and they huddled together against the glass storefront, the dark-haired man grabbing onto a girl as she stumbled out of the arcade, shrieking and clutching her head. Reika's back arched terribly so that her torso was nearly perpendicular to her legs, and she flung her arms out wide. The darkness descended on her in a moment, engulfing her whole. The boyfriend screamed her name and was just barely held back.

She was devoured whole, her energy sucked dry. Nephrite watched her crumble, her skin drawn and wrinkled and her hair considerably lighter. She looked dead.

But that quickly ceased to be interesting when he saw an unfamiliar flash of bright blue.

The dust settled, and the youma remained. Nephrite sat up when he saw it. It should have taken on some characteristics of the locket, but it didn't resemble the piece of jewelry at all. Its skin was bright green, and much of it was exposed, as it chose to don nothing more than a dark blue bustier and red boots that ran past the knee. A gold armband wound around its left limb, earrings dangling from pointed ears. Its washed-out blonde hair with a shock of pink only covered half of its head, drifting to the side like a weighted, lopsided mohawk. But the most curious feature was the monocle it wore over one eye.

It was not the monster he created. There had been something else inside that girl. An unknown terror had been released, something he was going to have no control over.

Vexing as that was, he couldn't help but smirk.

"How will you handle this, Sailor Senshi?

-----

Mamoru barely kept Motoki away from Reika's disturbingly shriveled form. Rei was on the ground as the explosion had sent her senses on overdrive. Ami was slapping her to keep her conscious, and Mamoru prayed very hard that she would be able to help fight.

"What is that thing?" Motoki hissed, enraged. "What did it do to Reika?"

Mamoru attempted to drag him away. There was enough of a crowd fleeing the scene so that he could dump him and allow him to be carried away by the others, but first he had to get there. The Crown had cleared out at record speed, and he needed Motoki out of the area fast. "We're going," he instructed harshly.

Motoki struggled in his grip, and Mamoru had to fight to hold him in place. "I'm not leaving her!"

"And I am not letting you stay here another minute," Mamoru grunted fiercely. "Go. Now."

The youma chuckled, resting a fist against its hip. "I can't very well let my little lab rats escape their cage."

Motoki snarled and once again strained under Mamoru's grip. "What are you? What did you do to Reika!"

"My name is Rikokayder. I am one of seven," it answered, smirking at him and readjusting the glass that covered its eye. "I merely redistributed the resources she generated and was meant to provide."

"It has a name," Ami whispered in disbelief.

"And there are more," Luna stressed as subtlety as she could, keeping her head away from Motoki and beginning to move away. "Ami, get Rei away from here. Let Mamoru deal with Motoki."

Rei took a deep breath. "Just give me a second. I'll be able to run on my own."

Mamoru was about to seriously question that idea when Rikokayder interrupted him. "Let us redirect our attention to more important matters. I have a hypothesis I would like to explore." She flung her hands out sharply, and at least ten canisters floated at her fingertips. She moved them in a manner that resembled a spider and taunted, "If I throw these directly at you, then you will run away so that you don't get hurt." Her cruel eyes filled Mamoru's vision. "Why don't we test my theory?"

She cast both hands forward and the canisters began to fly straight for their heads. The first struck the doors of the Crown, exploding outward and sending a shower of blue dust into the air. As it began to clear, the damage became sickeningly obvious. The whole storefront was completely pulverized.

The group did not have to be warned again what would happen if they stayed in one spot.

Ami dragged Rei to her feet and took off running, Luna hot on their heels. Mamoru didn't let go of Motoki, throwing himself to the ground and rolling just in time to avoid one of her projectiles. It left a small but significant hole in the street. Mamoru flinched when he thought of what almost happened to his spine.

"Thus far, my hypothesis is holding up nicely," Rikokayder considered aloud.

Motoki shook him off, throwing Mamoru onto his back. The wind left his lungs so thoroughly that he couldn't even cry out.

"You're going to pay for hurting her," Motoki seethed. He drew his fist back and rushed forward, screaming like an animal as he ran. He was a blur of pale rage, and if he had not been so obvious about it, Mamoru didn't doubt that he would have broken a few bones.

Rikokayder just smiled. "Time to replicate my experiment." She tossed another canister again, this one at least twice the size of the others.

Motoki kept running.

Mamoru took a large gulp of air and pushed himself up on his elbows. "Stop!"

But it was all in vain. One of the things was hurtling right for his chest. Mamoru reached out and laid hands on one of the chunks of rock the last explosion had created. He took aim, compensating towards the right because he could not miss this by even a fraction of an inch.

He threw the stone, watching as it turned end over end, racing for the target. It connected with her mini-bomb just moments before it would have it Motoki directly in the chest. The explosion was massive, lifting Motoki off his feet and hurtling him at least ten feet in the direction he had come from.

His head hit the ground first. Mamoru saw blood.

"Motoki!" he shouted, knowing that his friend couldn't possibly still be conscious.

Rikokayder clucked her tongue, shaking her head at the display. "I do so hate conflicting results."

Mamoru balled his fingers into fists. All he wanted to do was leap to his feet and physically tear the youma apart with his bare hands. He'd never felt bloodlust before, never understood what drove Jadeite to harm and Tetis to kill, but now he thought it was growing. When you believed in something strongly enough, when you felt something so intensely that a copper taste filled your mouth, you could do anything. Even slaughter.

But he knew it was neither the right nor the smart thing to do.

He looked over at Rikokayder and very solemnly said, "I am going to enjoy watching you die."

She snickered, amused. "Perhaps I have a pair of suicidal lab rats." She mimicked the same gestures as before, and the canisters once again returned. "That would be a very interesting variable." She sneered and stepped forward. "I wonder if your screams will taste as sweet."

"SHABON SPRAY!"

Thick mist rolled across the street like the old London fogs. It would provide Mamoru with more than enough cover to get him and Motoki out. He groped his way over to his fallen friend, pausing only to think of the damage he could do if Motoki had sustained any injuries to the spine. In the end, he pushed it out of his mind and prayed.

And if he'd guessed wrong, he decided it was better to be paralyzed than dead.

-----

"God, I hate this stupid fog," Mars confided to Mercury, who she assumed was somewhere off to her right. "I can't see a thing."

"I had to give Mamoru some cover," Mercury explained, her voice coming from the left.

Mars exhaled and attempted to push her way through the mist. "I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Where should I aim?"

"Give me a moment. I'm having trouble triangulating her position. She's moving around a lot."

Mars shook her head, her ruby earrings brushing against the sides of her neck. "Well, hurry up before she finds us. We're not doing much moving… around." She trailed off, staring around her. She was starting to see the outlines of cars and buildings. "I thought you said it would last awhile."

"It should be," Mercury muttered suspiciously. "Even in the open air it shouldn't be dissipating this fast."

Within seconds, the whole street was cleared of fog. But worse still, Rikokayder was nowhere in sight. Both girls stiffened and looked around sharply for a sign of their enemy.

It came from above.

Before Mars knew what was going on, she was hit with an intense, wet pressure, strong enough to knock her to her knees. She covered her head, sputtering underneath the water jet. She ground her teeth and groused, "I am so not in the mood for this. FIRE SOUL!"

She sent a stream of fire upwards, putting as much energy behind the blast as possible. The red flare turned a few inches of the spray to steam, giving Mars a moment to roll out of the way, soaked to the bone. She shivered in the sudden breeze and quickly took stock of the situation. Rikokayder held some sort of beaker that must have sucked up the Shabon Spray attack. She had now turned it on Mercury, knocking the girl off her feet.

The youma had nearly emptied the flask, and while Mars wasn't sure if Rikokayder could ensnare the fire power the same as the water, she was in no mood to find out. She was going to have to get rid of that beaker, and fast.

"Aku Ryo… Tai Sen!"

She sent five of her ofunda streaking towards the monster, trying to hit either it or the instrument in her hand. Rikokayder took to the air, narrowly avoiding the papers. Thankfully, Mercury was too low on the ground to be hit. She'd never used the ofunda on someone that wasn't a demon, but she had a nasty feeling that the results wouldn't be good.

"You all right?" Mars called out, while attempting to locate the monster.

Mercury coughed and spit out a mouthful of water as she dragged herself to her feet. "Just chilly."

A shadow fell across Rei's vision, and she nearly lashed out, stopping only when she heard the familiar flutter of a cape. She fixed her glare on his masked visage, her hands on her hips. "Announce yourself once in awhile."

"Sorry," he said, looking grim.

"Is Motoki all right?" Mercury asked, walking forward and joining in Mars's search.

Tuxedo Kamen shrugged, pulling out his cane and looking around the street. "I hope so, but we'd better deal with one thing at a time. Where's Rikokayder?"

Mars tensed and cracked her jaw. "What do you think I'm trying to—"

Something slammed into the back of Mars's head, and stars exploded in her vision. She cried out and flew forward, barely managing to put out her hands to prevent landing face first in the pavement. In spite of her blurred vision, she turned herself onto her back and drew her hand back, another ofunda caught between her fingers. "Aku Ryo Tai Sen!" It shot out so quickly that it was little more than a white blur on the wind.

Rikokayder dodged the proverbial bullet once more. It was doing Mars's mood no favors.

Tuxedo Kamen and Mercury immediately sprang into action. He kicked out, driving straight for her head, but she caught his ankle and seemed to hold it effortlessly in spite of her thin arms. Mars could see his eyes widen in shock. Mercury attempted to take advantage of the temporary distraction, trying to punch the beaker from her grip. But Rikokayder was not as easily fooled as they had hoped. She swung Tuxedo Kamen around like he was nothing more than a child's toy and hit Mercury hard in the shoulder, sending them both careening off into a parked car. Painful as it looked, she couldn't help but be a little envious when she saw how they landed.

"Lucky," Mars muttered, staggering to her feet and holding the back of her head. At first she thought the wetness she felt was the water, but when she pulled her hand away, she saw the glove was stained bright red. She shuddered and fought to stay upright, staring the monster down. Much as she would have liked to take the flask out herself, the others were in a better position to do so, and her aim would be completely off now. She'd just have to keep the thing occupied and hope she didn't keel over in the process.

"What did you mean by one of seven?" Mars asked, latching onto the first bit of information she could recall. "You're not like the others we've faced."

"That's because I'm better than the others. I was engineered that way." Rikokayder smiled, her eyes still narrowed into slits. "And I am more than good enough to recognize a diversion when I see it."

Mars's eyes widened when she saw Rikokayder produce yet another huge canister and hurl it in her direction. Both Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen screamed out for her, but Mars could hardly see straight. She hit her knees when she tried to run away, cutting the time she had before it detonated in half. In one last, desperate effort to save herself, Mars pushed off the ground, moving up and back and hoping it would be far enough.

When it hit the ground a moment later, the force of the explosion propelled her three times as far as the kick had. This time, she didn't have the sense to brace herself for impact. Her arm scraped against the asphalt, opening yet another red wound. She turned end over end, rolling farther and farther away from the battle until she finally came to a stop on her back.

She groaned loudly, trying to clutch at everything that hurt and finding that she didn't have enough hands. She coughed, her back arching as she tried to push herself up. But her elbows couldn't support her weight, and they collapsed, leaving her sprawled on the ground.

The tops of buildings bled into the sky, swirling in her vision like watercolors dripping down parchment. She blinked hard, fighting to stay conscious, but she could already see the edges of her sight beginning to darken. She coughed again, hating her own stupidity, when she caught something out of the corner of her eye.

Auburn hair in waves. Grey uniform. A sober, chilling expression leveled directly at Rikokayder and the others.

"Nephrite," she whispered, pointing her finger and trying to gather strength.

Everything went black, and her limb fell, taking the secret with her into a sea of darkness.

-----

Tuxedo Kamen swore when he saw their greatest offensive threat blown down the street, and he knew that there was no point going to check on her. She'd live, but she was officially out of commission. That left Mercury and him to finish the battle, and they both knew that neither one of them was equipped to take this youma down.

"Mars," Mercury wheezed, attempting to run to her. She resisted when Tuxedo Kamen held her back, unwilling to leave her friend.

Apparently, she had no intention of doing that ever again.

"We have to finish this," he hissed, holding her firmly and bringing them both upright. "She'd rather we take out the thing that hurt her than hover."

Mercury shook her head. "How can you say that after—"

"It's different now."

Mercury froze, her face twisted into am uncomprehending grimace. But she soon saw sense enough. "We wouldn't make it to her anyway, would we?"

"I doubt it."

"I can tell you that it is very much a certainty," Rikokayder stated, turning to face them. The beaker was still tucked under her arm. It had run out of ammunition, and he was certain Mercury would give her no more to work with. From that perspective, it was almost better that Mars was out of the picture.

He shook his head a second later. No matter the cost, having Mars with them was worth the risk.

"Hand-to-hand?" he muttered.

Mercury looked pained. "That's really not my specialty."

"Find another crowbar."

She frowned and opened her mouth, likely to condemn such a poor strategy when he zipped away from her, producing a handful of steel-tipped roses. He let them go on the move, hoping that at least one would hit home.

Rikokayder was sincerely unimpressed. She pulled the beaker out and held it between her hands, palms flat to either end of its surface. "Hypothesis: If your opponent changes tactics, then it is necessary to react in the same fashion." She pressed down swiftly, collapsing the beaker as if it were made out of rubber. When she pulled them apart again, a small, corked flask had taken its place. She shook up the bright green contents, pointing the opening at the flowers. "Experiment commencing now."

She pulled the cork away, and the liquid spewed out. The roses were hit first, and Tuxedo Kamen gaped as he watched the brew completely disintegrate them, tips and all. Much of the concoction kept moving, speeding towards him at an alarming rate. He ducked and rolled out of the way, turning his head in time to watch the acidic compound hit a steel door.

He didn't have very long to look at it.

"Let's see how this agent reacts with human skin," Rikokayder said, her voice still detached and calm as she sauntered over to him. The consummate scientist. "I wonder if it will eat through muscle and bone."

Tuxedo Kamen grunted as Rikokayder attacked once again. He brought his cape around him to block the spray, but he sensed it would do little good. He had no time to dodge, and he was about to lose his arm.

Somehow, he doubted it would grow back.

"Shabon Spray!"

Tuxedo Kamen opened his eyes and saw Sailor Mercury standing in front of him, her hands cupped and arms outstretched. A jet of wide jet of what shot from her palms, keeping the attack at bay. The pair of them were locked in a stalemate.

"Thanks," he murmured gratefully as he got to his feet. That's when he noticed Mercury wasn't even looking at Rikokayder. Her eyes were cast upwards, searching the rooftops for something unknown to him. "What's going on?"

"Just before Mars passed out," Mercury explained, "she pointed at something up there. I think there's something else up there."

"Or someone," Tuxedo Kamen added bleakly.

Tense seconds passed. Rikokayder was quickly becoming annoyed with Mercury's liquid blockade, and Mercury's disposition was equally sour. Finally, Mercury straightened in triumph. "There. Right across the street from the arcade."

Tuxedo Kamen followed her gaze, and it didn't take him very long to find out what was so interesting. "Nephrite."

Abruptly, Rikokayder's green spray came to a stop, and Mercury quickly followed suit before she exhausted herself. The youma's head whipped around, and both warriors shuddered when they saw that it had turned a full inch farther than what should have been possible. And for the first time, they heard her growl.

"Time to put the toys away."

Tuxedo Kamen cried out as he and Mercury were shoved closer together by some unseen force. He quickly realized that they had both been sealed up inside a beaker much like the first she had had. He looked up desperately only to see that the opening was stoppered.

"Let us out of here!" Tuxedo Kamen demanded, punching his fists against the glass.

"Suffocate while you watch a real fight," she hissed. Then she sped off, heading straight for the Dark King meant to command her.

-----

Nephrite's lip curled when he saw Rikokayder speeding towards him. He had been wondering if this demon would be beyond his control. This display certainly confirmed it. She was flying towards him like a heat-seeking missile, wearing her worst look.

He folded his arms and waited.

"Nephrite," she spat. "Third of the Shitennou. Star-gazer. Commander of the Shadows."

"Indeed," he agreed, noting that these titles were hardly meant to be complimentary. "Am I meant to know you?"

"I am one of the Seven Dark Warriors. One of the Shadow Creatures," Rikokayder continued. "I was black incarnate with eyes of blood. I ate the bones of children, and I laid waste to all who stood in my path."

Nephrite looked at the creature with a level gaze. "Never heard of you."

She recoiled, hissing horribly. "You have forgotten the greatest of all the youma?"

"You must not have been that remarkable," Nephrite drawled. "Would you mind telling me just why you are interfering with my plans?"

Rikokayder appraised him for a moment and then seemed to understand. "You did not mean to call me."

"Not in the slightest," Nephrite answered. "Why are you here? And if you're such a formidable warrior, why are those three still alive?"

Rikokayder was deeply insulted by the last comment, but she didn't reach for his throat. The time had not yet arrived for that. "I was bound inside that girl, encased beside her heart. Characteristics were absorbed, shaping me into this form." She paused, grinning wickedly. "I have not yet fully evolved. Metallia's kiss will unleash my true potential. I will devour again."

"I somehow doubt that was a request for me to escort you to the Dark Kingdom," Nephrite said, brushing some imaginary dust off his epaulettes. "You seem to hold some sort of grudge against me."

Rikokayder seethed, leaning forward. "You have forgotten, Nephrite, but I remember all. There was a time when you saw fit to fight against me and the others. You resisted." She snarled. "This I will not forgive."

Nephrite blinked. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"That really doesn't concern me," Rikokayder snapped.

She gave him no more warning than that. She lunged for him, sharpened teeth exposed and eyes wild beneath the glass slide. But he needed no warnings. Nephrite leapt up, flipping over her head. He turned and hovered on the air.

"The greatest of youma certainly is obvious," he remarked coolly.

"I conquered you then, general!" Rikokayder shouted. "I will do so again."

Nephrite frowned. "I don't appreciate being demoted." He held out one hand and sent forth a swirling starburst.

Rikokayder barely managed to dodge. "Pathetic display from the third," she taunted

"Second," Nephrite corrected off-hand. "Jadeite is dead."

Rikokayder smiled. "Pity. He was a good boy. Came on his own."

Nephrite scoffed. "If I had any interest in what you were talking about, I'd ask for the details."

She didn't bother to throw any more witticisms at him. She merely flew at him, pulling out of her exploding mechanisms and hurling them in his direction. He raised an eyebrow, extended his hands, and blew them aside with another torrent of starlight. He realized after they'd exploded that Sailor Mars was in range, and he heaved a frustrated sigh.

"Perfectly good opportunity wasted," he grumbled. He glanced back over at Rikokayder and saw that her momentum had not slowed. He was not prepared for the fist that landed directly against his jaw, sending him reeling in the air. He glared and muttered, "Now you're beginning to annoy me."

Rikokayder just continued her assault. She yanked out the acidic compound again, but Nephrite was in no mood to have his muscle chewed threw. He sent out another starburst, knocking the beaker out of her hand and thoroughly destroying it. Not even a drop of the stuff was left behind.

With that done, the battle resorted to a purely physical realm. Her kicks were vicious, but he had the upperhand in terms of body strength. Eventually, he wrestled her down to the ground where such combat was easier.

Then it was a storm of motion. Both of them were blurs along the street, punches opening wounds that were sure to leave scars. Neither one of them slowed, neither one of them relented, the violent dance continuing with their lives depending on it.

And that meant he wasn't about to lose.

He propelled his fist into the youma's stomach, sending her careening backwards. She landed in a heap, gasping to put air back into her lungs. She was down, and she wasn't moving quickly enough. He could have easily blown her apart.

And she knew it.

"Why don't you attack?" she wheezed. "I'm easy prey."

Nephrite scoffed. "There hasn't been a moment during this entire battle when you weren't."

Rikokayder's eyes widened. "Liar!"

"Not this time," he confided. "You see, after the irritation you've caused me, I really wouldn't mind killing you, but you present me with a rather large problem. You consumed that girl's energy, and getting rid of you would send it directly back into her body. That would constitute another loss on my part, and I'm afraid I can't afford that at this point.

"I've just been leading you around while I devised another method of transportation," he smirked, laughing quietly. "And I believe I've come up with the perfect solution."

Nephrite looked to the sky, holding up his right arm. All at once, night seemed to fall over the area, and the stars shone more brightly than ever. He heard appreciative gasps from the two enemies that were conscious, and he couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

"O Regulus, star of Leo, shining in the Southern night sky… grant me your power!"

The constellation of the lion stood out apart from the rest, and within a moment, the outline of the African king was clearly distinguishable in the night sky, larger than life. In the blink of an eye, it dropped down, a full-sized lion of pale blue and lavender. It lifted its head and let out a mighty roar, saliva dripping from his teeth.

He ran forward and pounced, paying no heed to the screams of Rikokayder. The beast fell on her, pinning her down by the arms and tearing his teeth into the face of the youma within moments. Nephrite heard another shout and glanced up to see Mercury hiding her face, and Tuxedo Kamen further shielding the girl by turning her away. The masked warrior couldn't seem to tear his eyes off the horrifying scene.

Nephrite turned back to the carnage, appraising the damage. The lion continued its feast, tearing into her chest like the weakest gazelle in a herd. Dark blue blood leaked from her wounds, staining the already wrecked street beneath her. An arm was ripped off and cast aside. Claws dug into her thighs, leaving deep gouges. And finally, white tendrils curled up from her corpse. The lion swallowed them greedily, as if flesh could not satisfy him, and soon he glowed from within. Once the energy was devoured, the lion turned to Nephrite, waiting for orders.

As it was meant to be.

"Take it to the Dark Kingdom. Find Kunzite," Nephrite instructed. "He will know what to do."

The lion nodded reverently, licking the dripping blood of the youma from his lips. He vanished in an instant, fully ready to do Nephrite's bidding.

Nephrite heard the sound of someone vomiting from behind him. He didn't need to look to know that Mars had woken up to see the mutilated carcass. He kept his eyes on Rikokayder's body, just to be sure.

He blinked, and her body began to dissolve into dust which was quickly wiped away by an unexpected breeze. She was gone for good.

"Greatest indeed," Nephrite muttered. Then he turned around to face Mars, who was sniffling and wiping her mouth indelicately. When she saw him looking, she colored, ashamed of the position she was caught in. But the embarrassment quickly melted into righteous anger as was her way. She started to get to her feet.

"You would really do better to simply lie there and accept your fate," he advised her. "You're no match for me, and certainly not in that condition."

She spat out a mouthful of bile and continued her fruitless struggle. "You don't deserve to live."

"Your judgment means nothing," Nephrite stated as she almost made it and then collapsed on one knee, breathing hard and reaching around to hold her head wound once again. "Your life means less to me."

"Leave her alone!" Mercury cried.

He barely contained the urge to roll his eyes. As if that would work.

He turned and called out to the two opponents still caught within Rikokayder's make-shift cage. "Don't worry. I'll be letting you two out to meet your ends shortly. I'd just prefer to take care of this problem first."

He raised his hand over his head, gathering the starburst that would surely finish Mars off.

"Nephrite."

He paused, turning his head to the sound of an unfamiliar rasp. His eyes found a blue youma, covered in fur and leather crouching on a parking meter. Its sharp eyes bored into his own, and a necklace of cherry blossoms wound around its thin throat.

"One of Zoisite's scouts." He clenched his jaw and growled, "Does your master see fit to interrupt my battles now?"

"Apologies," it pronounced, and for a moment, he almost believed. "He was with Kunzite when the lion came."

Nephrite snorted. "Wonder of wonders."

"I saw what happened, Lord Nephrite," it explained further. "I told them something had gone wrong, and now Lord Kunzite calls you back immediately."

Nephrite's eyebrow twitched. It would not do to keep Kunzite waiting. Not unless he wanted a sound beating. "Fine. I'll kill this one and be right over."

"Aky Ryo Tai Sen!"

He whirled, sneering at her third attempt to use those damned scrolls. He expected to need to dodge them, but the one she had sent out flew by his face as if it was not intended for him. He thought for a moment that her aim was incredibly off, but he quickly realized that she had hit her intended target. The paper lay flat against the glass of Rikokayder's cage, which began to crack from the moment the two touched. It did not take very long at all for the cracks to spread until the prison shattered outward, freeing Tuxedo Kamen and Mercury from their confinement. They raced forward, narrowly avoiding the starburst he sent their way. In a move mimicking his own, they soared above his head, coming to rest directly in front of their wounded comrade.

"Perhaps you need to double-check on the meaning of the word 'immediately,'" Tuxedo Kamen suggested coldly.

Nephrite scowled, wanting nothing more than to call that lion back if he were not otherwise occupied. He wouldn't mind seeing Tuxedo Kamen's head ripped off in front of his female admirers one bit.

" Cape Boy has a point," the youma rasped.

Tuxedo Kamen choked.

Nephrite took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. Much as he would have liked to kill them all, wounded or not, it was going to take more time than he would have liked. Not to mention the fact that when he did kill Mars, which was really an inevitability at this point, the other two would likely run. Kunzite would not absolve tardiness unless he brought back three corpses, not one.

"Fine," Nephrite muttered.

He held out his hand to his left and casually sent off another attack. The youma barely had a chance to shout before it was rendered into another pile of dust.

"Take that message to Zoisite, if you can," Nephrite said quietly. He opened his eyes and redirected his attention to the three warriors, each of whom looked a bit pale. "Much as I would prefer not to, I'm going to have to abandon our little get-together for the time being. But rest assured, next time, there will be no interruptions and no mistakes, and you will have me to contend with instead of a scavenging demon."

He held out his hand, opening a portal of shadow that would take him back to his home. He began to move towards it, watching his enemies slowly relax as he moved away from them out of the corner of his eye.

He shot another burst of energy, smiling at the dust and screams it brought on.

"Amateurs," he taunted before vanishing into the dark.

-----

Tuxedo Kamen just barely managed to pull Mars out of the way of Nephrite's final assault. He soared above the blast, searching through the smoke for Mercury's silhouette. He found her soon enough, diving behind a car for cover.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He was in no mood to take anyone to the hospital.

He landed with Mars by his side, fully supporting her. For once, she didn't look like she was in a position to complain. "Are you all right?"

She gave him a withering look. "Did you miss the part where I got kicked in the head and blasted down a block?"

"Right. Stupid question."

Mercury emerged from behind the car, Luna now gathered up in her arms. Neither of them looked happy. "Well, that was certainly unexpected," Luna muttered. She paused and gave each of them a look. "And I meant the in-fighting, not that last cheap shot. That you should have seen coming."

Tuxedo Kamen winced, chastened. "Point taken."

"Do you need a doctor?" Mercury asked, choosing the far more pertinent question.

Mars seemed to consider the query but eventually just shook her head. "I don't think so. My vision was blurred for awhile, but I saw clearly enough to save your butts."

"Well, to be fair, it was a rather large target," Tuxedo Kamen muttered.

"I would kick you again if you weren't the only thing keeping me from falling over," Mars informed him soundly.

"Thank you," Mercury interrupted, holding up her hands, "for the rescue. I don't know how we would have gotten out of there otherwise."

"Nephrite would have blown us out," Tuxedo Kamen said grimly. There was likely more to be discussed, but he heard the sound of sirens coming towards them. It seemed the city of Tokyo had once again neglected to send the cavalry until after the battle was won. "We'd better get out of here."

"There will be paramedics," Luna said. "Mars, you should go ahead and get checked out."

Mars opened her mouth to protest, but Tuxedo Kamen was in no mood to listen to it. He wrapped an arm around her waist and leapt upwards, landing behind a car. He let his transformation fall away and then left her in the care of Mercury, who followed soon afterwards.

"I've got to go check on Motoki and Reika," he explained tersely. "Make sure that she actually sees somebody will you?"

Mercury nodded as Mamoru spun around, walking as quickly as he could to his fallen friends.

-----

Motoki had come around just in time to see Mamoru's worried face hovering over him. Before he could even ask if Reika was all right, he was surrounded by medical personnel and felt poked and prodded on every inch of his body. Motoki could barely hear Mamoru's version of events over his own shouts, but he managed to gather that his friend did not hold him in extremely high regard for rushing a monster as he had done.

As he was being wheeled out of the arcade, he remembered that Mamoru had saved his life. It was too late to thank him.

He was rolled into the back of the ambulance along with some older woman. The pair of them were jostled a bit as the paramedics struggled to make room for both the stretchers. Finally, they managed the fit and the doors were shut. He heard a bang against the back to signal that the patients were loaded. A moment later he felt the ambulance begin to move and the sirens wailed. He was likely to find himself in emergency care within minutes.

And he still had no idea what had happened to Reika.

He covered his face with his hands, hating himself. He was supposed to be in love with her, and didn't that somehow obligate him to protect her? Even if she hated him now, even if she wanted other guys more than him, all he had wanted to do was save her from that… thing, and he hadn't been able to do it. Logically, he supposed he was asking too much of himself. But he'd felt the adrenaline rush as his body readied to fight. He should have been able to do more than get knocked out without so much as throwing a punch.

"Reika…" he hissed, feeling hot salt water sting at his eyes. "Where are you?"

The old woman beside groaned quietly. His eyes flew open, and his entire body stiffened. He knew that voice. He'd heard it whisper in his ear, heard it sing off-key in the shower, heard it spit at him and tell him he was unworthy.

He sat up as straight as he dared and spun to look at her. Her skin was dangerously pale, and her hair had turned completely grey, but it was her. It was his Reika.

"Oh, God," he whispered, reaching out and grasping her hand. "Reika? Reika, please wake up. It's me."

She groaned loudly, but her eyes fluttered open nonetheless. Even they seemed less vibrant. Less alive. She turned her head to look at him, but she had to blink three times before she actually saw him. "Motoki?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice choked and hushed. "It's me."

"What happened…? I was…" her eyes widened in horror, and somehow, her skin managed to turned even paler. "Oh, no. What have I… Motoki, I didn't—"

"I know," he said, hushing her and gripping her hand even tighter. "I understand now. You were… possessed or something."

Reika shook her head, her green eyes sparkling with tears. "All those horrible things I said to you. I didn't mean a thing, Motoki, I swear. I don't think you're—"

"I know," he repeated, this time more firmly. He smoothed a thumb over the back of her hand. He looked down at it and saw that it was slightly withered. He winced, fighting the urge to gather the woman in his arms and clutch at her until they both disappeared. "Don't talk about it anymore."

Reika let out a strangled sob, her chest heaving. "I should have just told you about the stupid program. I should never have hid the letter."

He swallowed the lump in his throat, his heart beating unbelievably fast. "Let's not talk about that right now."

Reika didn't hesitate before nodding. "I don't want to be alone."

Motoki let out a long sigh of relief and shifted closer to her. Still holding on to her hand, he bent over her until their foreheads were touching, skin against skin, his tears quickly mingling with her own. "Neither do I," he whispered with conviction. "Neither do I."

-----

Luna wandered up behind Mamoru as he watched the ambulance with Reika and Motoki pull away. She brushed against his legs, purring as loudly as she knew how. A ghost of a smile haunted his lips, and he bent down to gather her in his arms. She kept purring even though there was very little for her to be pleased about.

"How's Rei?" he asked the cat, keeping her close to his chest.

Luna's ear twitched. "She'll be fine. She's giving the paramedic trying to check her over three different kinds of hell."

"Nothing wrong then."

Luna looked hard at Mamoru's face, taking in the sharp lines of his jaw and the clouds that had gathered over his eyes. She followed his gaze for a moment. His eyes still had not left the ambulance. "It wasn't your fault, you know," she told him gravely.

Mamoru sighed. "Funny how the people who get targeted all seem to be connected to us, Luna. I'd like to actually save a stranger one of these days."

Luna frowned, pondering this. There was a perfectly plausible explanation for this phenomenon, but it was not one that would do Mamoru any favors to hear. She swallowed her explanations and hoped he didn't press her further.

Luckily for her, Ami and Rei came up behind them at that particular moment.

Mamoru glanced over at the pair, taking in the towel Rei was holding to her head. "No hospital then?"

Rei's frown deepened. "Not if that paramedic is going to be anywhere in the area. That kind of idiocy could spread."

Ami shook her head, folding her hands in front of her. "Really, Rei, I think you were a bit unkind."

"He deserved it."

"That may be, but I don't see why you felt the need to bring his mother into it."

"What do you think he meant by no screw-ups next time?" Mamoru interrupted.

The girls' conversation came to a grinding halt.

"Well, that seems obvious enough," Luna put in. "The monster tried to attack him. That's not exactly a plan coming together perfectly."

"Then why the plural?" Ami questioned, no doubt echoing Mamoru's own thoughts. "Besides, the youma didn't even realize that Nephrite was around. The others have had some awareness of him. Rikokayder found out he was there and then it was like we didn't matter to her anymore."

Rei shifted uncomfortably. "I don't like that it had a name."

Mamoru nodded, remembering Tetis.

"What do you think he did wrong?" Ami asked.

"No idea," Luna confessed, flicking her tail in annoyance. "And I also have no idea what she meant by her being one of seven. She couldn't be referring to the other two. They were nothing like her."

Mamoru frowned at her. "You really don't remember anything from… before that might explain it?"

Luna mulled over it for a moment, but eventually shook her head. "I told you everything about that time that I can remember, I'm afraid."

"Keep trying," he instructed.

Luna nodded. "Of course."

Ami cleared her throat and quietly asked, "How are Motoki and Reika?"

"He'll be fine," Mamoru answered uncomfortably. "But she…" he closed his eyes, bowing his head in frustration. "She doesn't look like herself."

Vaguely familiar with what a victim of a full-energy drain looked like, Luna quietly provided the answers to the questions Mamoru would not bring himself to ask. "Her skin will return to normal after a few good meals and some rest," Luna explained. "But her hair will remain grey for the rest of her life. She'll get tired more easily for about a month, and… she could be more susceptible to illness after this. It depends on how healthy she was before."

Mamoru looked sick and swallowed hard. Neither of the other girls looked much better.

"None of the others ever looked that bad," Rei murmured, no doubt remembering her father, who was still holed up in a high-security hospital room although there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

"I don't believe any of the others took quite as much," Luna said.

She didn't say it, but she was really very surprised that Reika had survived at all.

One look at Mamoru's face and she realized that she didn't have to say it for him to know.

"There was something wrong with that youma," Rei insisted. "Not just the name. It was just… different from the others."

Luna furrowed her brow. "Is there any way you can find out more?"

Rei nodded. "I'll scry the fire as soon as I can hold myself up properly and see if there's anything I can find out."

"I'll come back later tonight once all of this has died down," Ami offered. "I'll analyze anything I can find with the computer and then bring it to you."

Mamoru fidgeted.

"We'd better all get going before anyone tries to ask us any questions," Luna suggested.

He nodded. "Good plan. Rei, do you need a ride home?"

"Do you even have to ask?" she chastised, hobbling forward and using anything she could get her hands on for support.

Mamoru closed his eyes for the span of about ten seconds before he asked Ami the same question.

"No thanks," Ami said, tucking her hair behind her ears. It was getting longer. "I think I need to walk around to clear my head for a bit. I don't think being in the car with you and Rei will be conducive to that."

Luna watched Mamoru's face fall a bit. She couldn't help but chuckle at his dislike for being alone with the priestess, but there was nothing to be done about it now. In the end he sighed and said, "Just us two against the spitfire, Luna."

"Watch where you're going! I'm injured, you know!"

Recognizing Rei's voice, both Ami and Mamoru hung their heads. Luna was the only one who bothered to look at who she'd bumped into. It was a blonde girl with a rather obnoxious looking red bow holding up half of her hair, whose bright blue eyes widened in surprise. She stared after Rei in disbelief, but didn't pursue the matter, quickly disappearing into the growing crowd to have a look at what was going on.

After that, they parted ways. After all, they all had their jobs to do.

-----

Hours later, Sailor Mercury returned to the scene of the crime.

It had taken much longer than she had expected for all of the crowds to clear. The rubberneckers had to get their fill of sensationalism before they returned to their lives, and police and government officials stayed behind for hours attempting to appraise the situation. The media was not far behind everyone else, and soon the airwaves were filled with live feed, all of them saying the same thing: the soldiers had once again racked up a great deal of collateral damage; the great debate over the city's saviors waged continued with Senator Hino lounging uselessly in the hospital, and everyone wanted to know who the Sailor Senshi were and who was the man behind the mask.

Mercury wanted nothing more than to stay hidden, and that was why it was necessary for her to stick to the shadows.

In the dark of night, Mercury scoured the area as thoroughly as she knew how. She collected a sample of the blood Rikokayder had spilt, not doubting for a second that the city of Tokyo had done much the same. She located a strand of the lion's hair and tucked that away although he was not her primary target in this search. Every bit of evidence, no matter how miniscule, was gathered and collected, hidden away in a pouch she had brought along with her.

Still, even after an hour of looking, the pouch was depressingly empty. Perhaps she had been naïve to hope for some large, momentous discovery at this point. If those were to be made, surely the police or someone more qualified than her would have found them. She hadn't relished the idea of allowing others to have a look at the scene before her, but she hardly had the authority to take first dibs on a crime scene she had been a part of.

Mercury considered for a moment that it would be nice to one day have that authority. She wondered if someday, the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen would be respected enough to be allowed such things, minor concessions in the chain of command for the greater good.

"That will take years," Mercury concluded glumly. "I hope we're not still fighting when that time comes."

Mercury took another sweeping look over the landscape. The street was badly torn up. It would cost thousands of dollars to repair. There was also damage to several buildings, and Nephrite had blown away a parking meter along with that second demon. She had been everywhere, collected everything she could. There was nothing more for her to do here.

"Good night," Mercury whispered to no one.

She was about to turn to go, planning on taking the rooftops so that she could beat her mother home. However, before she completed her revolution, a glint of blue caught her eye.

She paused and turned in the direction of the blue light. It vanished of course, but she shifted her position once again to be certain that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. They weren't.

Mercury walked forward, her boots clacking loudly against the street. She was quite surprised to find, hidden underneath the car Reika had been standing beside, a blue crystal concealed behind a tire. At first, Mercury had no idea what significance this particular object could have.

Then she remembered the bright cerulean flash just before Rikokayder had emerged.

"Was that what Nephrite cursed?" Mercury mused aloud. "But why on Earth would Reika be carrying something like this around?"

She shook her head after another moment's consideration. It didn't make sense for Nephrite to have used that against her, even in the unlikely event that Reika always had the thing in her pocket. Haruna's car and Senator Hino's glasses had become the youma that attacked. Rikokayder didn't resemble a blue gemstone based on any stretch of the imagination. The crystal simply didn't fit into the pattern.

But then again, almost nothing about this incident did.

Regardless of what this could mean, one thing was for certain. The crystal had played an integral part in the situation that had taken place just hours before. In fact, it could be the very root of the anomalous circumstances. Supposing that, it really only left Mercury with one option.

Her hand darted out and snatched up the stone, placing it into the pouch along with everything else. She had no idea how trained professionals had missed this, but she was grateful that they had. The last thing she needed was a crucial piece of evidence falling into the hands of those who had no idea what they were dealing with. It was extremely good luck that this had come into her possession.

Without taking another moment's pause, Mercury ran forward and then leapt up. She landed on a nearby roof and didn't slow down for a second. Her mother was going to be home late that night, but at this rate, she only had about fifteen minutes to arrive there before she did.

-----

Once Mercury was out of sight, another girl in a very short skirt emerged from the very spot Nephrite had chosen to hide during the fight, a white cat slung over her shoulder.

"Good thing she found that thing, huh?" he deadpanned, giving his blonde companion a look.

Sailor V waved at him dismissively. "So I tampered with evidence. Would you rather I have let it get taken and then broken into government facilities to get it back?"

"It would have amused me."

She flicked his ear gently.

"Ouch!"

"Baby," she said, watching Mercury's retreating silhouette. She folded her arms akimbo and leaned against the bricks. "So, you really have no idea what the heck that crystal was?"

"Not a clue," Artemis confessed. "I'd be half-tempted to claim it was this fabled Ginzuishou except for the fact that it's not actually silver."

"Could be a clever ruse to disguise what it really is," Sailor V suggested.

"Doubtful," Artemis concluded.

She nodded. "I know. Just saying." She sighed loudly and tossed her hair over her other shoulder. "Whatever it is, I'm glad she has it. She's the only one of us who might be able to make heads or tails of that thing."

Artemis sighed. "I sort of hope they can use it as a weapon after what Nephrite said."

Sailor V frowned, remembering the report Artemis had given her. She'd missed the fight after being locked in her room until she actually cleaned it, further proof that her mother was a sadist. "About fighting them himself?"

"That would be it."

"I'm not so thrilled with that myself," she murmured, her forehead creased. She clenched her fists against her chest and quietly said, "If it gets bad, don't expect me to sit on the sidelines. They're not ready to take him head-on. They barely survived Jadeite, and even if he was higher-ranked than Nephrite…" she trailed off, unwilling to finish.

"What is it?" Artemis pressed.

"During the last battle, Jadeite didn't have the stomach to kill anyone," Sailor V said darkly. "Today, you told me Nephrite watched one of his own get eaten alive without even blinking."

Artemis understood, shuddering a little at the memory. "Good point."

"You won't be able to stop me from helping them," Sailor V continued, determined. "I'm bigger than you."

He hung his head a bit. "I know, I just… Just don't jump in too quickly."

"I won't," she assured him, her body relaxing with the permission given, necessary or not. "If it's all the same to you, I'd much rather have a little chat with one of them rather than reveal myself to the whole lot."

"Well, hasn't your tune changed over the past few weeks?"

"I'd just as soon not have to deal with Mars," Sailor V confessed. "She's downright unpleasant." Her pink lips curved into a smile, her back straightening as the wind changed direction, blowing her hair away from her body. She turned her face up to the moon as if searching for someone.

"Tuxedo Kamen, on the other hand, seems very pleasant indeed."

Artemis laughed out-loud. "Boy crazy."

She flicked his ear again, feeling no sympathy for his whinging cry of pain.

"Shut up."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Random KR trivia: the memory about Naru breaking both of her arms is based on a true story. My oldest sister jumped off the swings on a dare during elementary school, and broke both of her arms. It made her life exceedingly difficult for the amount of time she had them on, but it's a family story that gets told every now and again. Especially now that her two-year-old son has gotten a swing set.

Anyway, I hope everyone liked the Reika plot twist. I'd always planned to have her be a victim in this chapter as I'm a bit of a closet Reika/Motoki fan, and I wanted to see their relationship tested in a new way. That meant bringing the confrontation over her studies sooner and giving it a bit of a spin. However, I quickly realized that I hadn't thought about how her Shadow Warrior would come into play. I decided pretty early on that the crazy would be much less pronounced and that her monster would be more formidable than usual to contend with because of the amount of energy it consumed.

But then I thought: what if the shadow warrior came out?

It was so deliciously evil that I couldn't pass it up. The nijizuishou plot for this fic is going to be vastly different than how it played out in the anime (and also a lot more condensed). I'm still questioning how this will affect future plots and it may cause me to have alter the outline for the next chapter slightly; haven't quite decided yet. But I'm excited about it (and I hope I haven't written myself into a hole).

Also, according to today's conversion rates, 15,000 yen would be around 125.00 US dollars. I have no idea what that would have amounted to in 1992. My guess would be more, but I am crap at economics. Feel free to correct me if you are so inclined. That said, I'm half-tempted to take a poll to see if there are people out there who would pay that amount of money for a Mamoru-hug.

Thanks as always to the betas, Yumeko and Dave, for making this story better than I alone could make it. And another big thank you to all of you readers, especially the reviewers, whose comments fill me with unparalleled joy.

And I won't give out too many details, but I will say this: there is a Usagi scene in the next chapter that literally makes me jump up and down when I think of its awesomeness. Yes, you read that name correctly. I cannot wait to see everyone's reaction to it. :D Until next time!

Coming Soon - Part Ten: Family Matters


	10. Family Matters

Hands Fall Together  
Part Ten: Family Matters  
by Kihin Ranno  
10/25  
R

Usagi knew if she stayed in the house for one more minute, she was going to lose it.

Home hadn't quite felt like the comfortable safe haven it had once been – not since she and Shingo had been caught up in the attack outside the arcade. Then the situation had declined after her injury at the senator's conference. Ironically, it was the second attack at the arcade – the one incident no member of the Tsukino family had been present for – seemed to have tipped the scale.

Usagi changed the channel on the television, flipping to some American gangster movie in the middle of a shoot-out. Shingo leapt from his seat, dropping his manga, and started to dive behind the nearest solid object. She immediately put the set on mute.

"It's okay, Shingo," Usagi said. She tried to use a soothing tone, but felt so tightly wound that her attempt failed spectacularly. "It's just the TV."

His cheeks reddened in his otherwise white face, giving him the look of a miniature geisha. He nodded, reaching down to retrieve the fallen comic. "I knew that. Just surprised me."

Usagi refrained from commenting.

Her mother poked her head out of the kitchen. "What's going on in here?"

"Don't worry about it," Usagi answered, switching back to the weather report, which seemed innocuous enough.

She didn't look convinced, but she put on the same smile that had been plastered to her face for days. "Usagi," she said brightly, "are you planning on going out with Naru today?"

"She's still at the hot springs with her mom," Usagi sighed. "She won't be back for a few days."

Her mother continued to grin relentlessly. "Well then. What do you think you'll do instead?"

She shrugged. "Not sure."

"Do you think you'll stay in?"

The hope in her mother's voice was palatable. Usagi shrugged again to keep her mother happy, but she knew there was no chance of that. She felt like she was choking cooped up inside with her family. She couldn't stand Shingo's fear and her mother's smiles. And as for her father.,,

"Shouldn't Dad be home soon?" Usagi asked. "It's Saturday; he said he'd only work half a day."

Her smile nearly wavered. "I got a call from him earlier saying he'd be home for dinner. Turns out there's more work to be done than he thought."

Usagi nodded and did her best to hide her disappointment. "Right."

Then her mother retreated into the kitchen, her sanctuary, to hide from Usagi's knowing eyes. Usagi was sure there wasn't such pressing work for her father to do. Apparently he couldn't stand being home either, but he always had a ready excuse to leave. She'd been curious to see what he would do home for the weekend, but apparently he had solved that with feigned emergencies.

Usagi knew she was being unfair and grouchy, but she couldn't seem to move past it. She wanted to help her family. She wanted to be cheerful and upbeat alongside her mother, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wasn't a good enough actress to do it, and even if she had been, just thinking about pretending for her own family left her feeling ill. Things were too scattered, too chaotic for any of them to be happy. She felt like they were all covered with a sadness like a thick blanket, and she was suffocating inside her own home. She had to get out.

The trouble was, she had nowhere to go. The brace limited her mobility considerably, so she couldn't justify simply going for a walk. She couldn't go swimming because of the injury. She couldn't go shopping because she'd been forbidden after the last trip to spend any money for at least a month. She couldn't go see Naru because Naru was miles and miles away. She had to leave, but she had no destination in mind.

"Usagi, you sighed again," her brother pointed out, his voice softer than normal.

She glared and contemplated throwing a pillow at his head. Realizing it might remind him too much of a deadly projectile, she decided against it. "Think of it as a soundtrack to our lives."

He frowned. "I prefer to think of it as annoying. Since it is."

She very nearly sighed again in response. "Well, I'm bored. I can't swim, I can't spend money, and I can't see Naru. What's the point in even leaving the house?"

Shingo shrugged. "You could go to the arcade and see Motoki. He might even give you a free Sunday. You said he gives that guy you always complain about free coffee."

It was like the first thaw after a long winter. Usagi leapt to her feet (which again made Shingo jump) and hobbled over to her brother, giving him a big hug. "Shingo, you're a genius! Motoki's just what I need right now! He always cheers me up." She picked up her crutches and made her way over to the doorway, calling out where she was headed and when she expected to be back. Then she stepped outside and took a deep breath of the blissfully fresh air.

She could practically taste the sunshine.

It took her a lot longer than usual to walk down to the Crown. Although her father's yelling had succeeded in getting her some stronger medication, she didn't like taking more than half at a time or she couldn't keep her eyes open. And she felt like the crutches had gotten her into somewhat better shape, but she still couldn't walk on them for very long. But eventually she made it, and she bounced inside (as much as a person on crutches could bounce) and looked around for Motoki.

But all she saw was a man with a very unattractive beard wearing Motoki's apron.

Frowning, she went over and tapped him on the shoulder, nearly overbalancing and tumbling to the floor. She righted herself awkwardly. "Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to say hi to Motoki… Is he in the back?"

The man shook his head. "Sorry Miss, he's actually not here today."

Usagi couldn't hide her surprise. "Not here! But he always works on Saturdays."

"Usually yeah, but he's… got some things going on."

Usagi furrowed her brow in concern. "Where is he?"

-----

Mamoru glanced at his watch again, discovering that he had checked it four times in the past fifteen minutes. Sighing, he leaned against the door of his car, patting the car absentmindedly. It took him a moment to realize that he had half-expected it to purr.

"I wonder if there's such a thing as a Crazy Cat Gentleman?" he muttered.

Just then, the automatic doors to the hospital slid open and Motoki stumbled out into the sunlight. Mamoru simply lifted a hand in greeting and stood to greet him. Motoki didn't acknowledge him physically, but Mamoru didn't need the wave returned. He knew Motoki would walk right up to him as if drawn by a magnetic force. He needed support, and even if Mamoru was not the best option, he was currently the only one available.

Mamoru flinched when Motoki finished crossing to him. The circles beneath his eyes were so dark they almost looked like twin bruises. "Guess you didn't sleep then," he remarked.

Motoki shook his head. "Couldn't. Too worried."

"How is she?"

Motoki hesitated for less than a second, but in that time, Mamoru felt as though he were going to crack. But then Motoki did nod, and he was able to hold himself together. "She's going to be okay. They're going to keep her here for awhile… She's suffering from extreme exhaustion, and it looks like she hasn't been eating or drinking since…"

"Yeah," Mamoru murmured, the fingers in his pocket twitching. "Well, that's great." He paused, noting that Motoki still looked as though Reika were on her deathbed. "Is there something else?"

Motoki shook his head. "It's stupid."

"If it's upsetting you, then it's not stupid."

Motoki smiled, but it was little more than a glimmer compared to his usual grins. "That was good. God, Mamoru, you're practically a social animal now."

"Motoki."

The blond turned his head, swallowing. "She looked like an old woman when they brought her in. Wrinkled and her hair was grey, nearly white. They said… they said the wrinkles were from dehydration. Her skin had shriveled to the point where it was practically dust. So once she has fluids again, that'll be fine. But her hair…." He closed his eyes. "Her hair's always going to be like that."

Mamoru frowned, not quite understanding the significance of this. "I'm sorry."

"It's just that she loved her hair," Motoki murmured. "She took such great care of it. So many products and trips to the hair dresser's every two weeks…. She really, really loved it. And I loved it too. Now it's gone." His voice cracked. "Don't get me wrong. I'm so happy that she's alive and okay, but… you didn't see her after she saw her reflection. I've never heard anyone make that noise. It was like someone _had_ died. And I… for once, I didn't know what to do. I don't know how to make her feel better, and I wonder if I even can."

Every bone in his body wanted to run away, but Mamoru all but dug in his heels. He lifted his chin in defiance of his own insecurities and reached forward with one arm. He drew Motoki to him roughly, flinching when the blond's nose rammed into his shoulder. Mamoru practically expected Motoki to cry, but his friend simply stood there breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out. And Mamoru stayed beside him, clenching his fist by Motoki's left ear.

It was a long time before Motoki drew away. He swiped at his eyes with his thumb. "That was almost a hug."

Mamoru nodded. "Yeah. Almost."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He paused. "Need a ride home?"

Motoki looked at him as though he'd just spoken German. "Huh. Guess I do."

"You can't stay here forever," Mamoru pointed out.

"That had actually been my plan."

"At least grab a shower," Mamoru ordered, popping open the passenger door. "You're pretty ripe. And I'm guessing you haven't eaten either."

Motoki snorted quietly as he climbed in the car. "And you say I'm a mother hen."

Mamoru shut Motoki's car door with his foot and then circled around to the driver's side. "Learned from the best."

-----

Sunday mornings at the Tsukino household, Ikuko knew, were not always the idyllic affair she had pictured in her girlhood. To begin with, it was rare that she actually saw her eldest daughter. No matter how early Usagi went to bed, it seemed impossible to rouse her before noon, and on the rare occasion that Ikuko succeeded, the blonde was not her usual cheerful self. And more often than not, Kenji had his nose buried in a newspaper and responded to her questions with monosyllabic answers that were nothing like the impassioned monologues he had once regaled her with in college. And as for Shingo, if he wasn't playing video games at the table, he was rushing off to get to the living room to watch his favorite new television program. She didn't mind too much because dinner times were always a treat regardless of the day, but that didn't change the fact that Sunday mornings were far from her favorite time of the week.

This Sunday morning was different but hardly better.

"The pancakes are burning," Kenji snapped, his voice raspy from sleep.

On another day, Ikuko would have said something about his tone, but she bit her tongue and scraped the pancakes off the wok, slapping them onto one of the three plates she'd set out. After pouring some more batter, she swung around to the table and set the plate down in front of her son. "There you are, Shingo. I know you like them a little burnt."

When Shingo didn't answer, Ikuko laid her cool hand against the back of his neck. She felt his spine stiffen with fear. Even his own mother was setting him on edge. It seemed there was nothing that couldn't frighten him now.

She resisted the urge to chew on her lip.

"Burning again," Kenji muttered brusquely.

"More for Shingo," she insisted. Then Ikuko spun back to the burners and focused her attention on the pancakes. None of her family ate much, leaving a sizeable stack in the center of the kitchen table. This was normally unheard of, but Ikuko had nearly filled the refrigerator with leftovers as of late, something she was not accustomed to with two growing children in the house. As she expected and hoped against, both Usagi and Shingo immediately retreated to their rooms once they had spent enough time in the kitchen. Ikuko winced every time Usagi's crutches struck one of the steps, making them creak.

Kenji drank the last of his third cup of coffee. "We're out of coffee."

Ikuko nodded. "I'll buy some more at the store."

He didn't thank her. He got to his feet, and it was only then that Ikuko noticed he was dressed.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Work," he muttered.

Ikuko's mouth fell open. "But it's Sunday!"

"One of the copy editors has… been out sick," Kenji sighed. Ikuko could tell from his tone that the copy editor in question had probably quit and fled the city like several others. Unemployment was at an all time low in Tokyo, particularly in the Juuban district, but the situation in its surrounding cities was worse than it had ever been in recent memory. "I offered to help in the interim."

Ikuko felt like slamming her good spatula down on her countertops. It took an exceptional amount of willpower not to. "And you didn't think of mentioning this to me?"

"I didn't think it would matter to you."

"I've wanted to talk to you for days, but you're always either too tired or going off to work."

He shook his head. "Not today. I'm late."

"Kenji!"

"We'll talk later," he insisted, turning away.

"You can't take the car," Ikuko called after him. "I need it to shop."

Kenji didn't respond, all but slamming the door on his way out. A moment later, she heard the engine turn over. She exhaled in exasperation, certain that he just hadn't heard her but vexed all the same.

As he drove away, Ikuko struggled to work the kinks out of her shoulders. Then she turned to face the mess her family had left her with. She hoped she had room in the fridge for the pancakes.

"I don't see how you can be late when you'll be the only one there."

-----

Mamoru hung up the phone with Motoki and then turned back to the oatmeal he'd left to cool when he'd rung his friend. It wasn't steaming anymore, but now it just looked unappetizing. He pushed it aside and then strode back into the living room, sinking onto the couch. He flung his arm out, his fingers grasping Luna's ear and tugging gently.

She purred, tilting her head until his fingers found the perpetually itchy spot. He scratched accordingly.

"And how's Motoki?"

"Worried, but that's no surprise," Mamoru said. "Reika's getting out of the hospital today, and he felt like talking about it."

Luna scrunched her face up so that it almost seemed like she was raising an eyebrow made of whiskers. "What's there to discuss about that?"

"Funny, I asked the same thing."

She pulled her head away from his hand, flicking her tail back and forth. "I know you're concerned about them both, Mamoru, but I hope you know that you've been doing everything you can even if it doesn't feel like much."

Mamoru nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I just wish I could fix the problem. I feel like I'm staring at a broken fuel pump waiting for it to heal itself."

Luna chuckled knowingly. "How very male of you."

He shrugged. "I just hope everything works out for them. They're… good for each other. God knows Motoki's insufferable without her."

"And she's going to need someone after what happened to her. Not that we know exactly what it was," Luna murmured, the slight irritation in her voice unmistakable

Mamoru grunted and dug the heels of his hands into his temples. He wound up with some stray cat hairs in his eye for his trouble. "Damn feline."

Luna jumped down from the back of the couch and used his lap as a launching pad to reach the coffee table. "If you don't know how to avoid that by now, then you're hopeless."

He waved his hand sharply, deciding it was best to forget the matter for the time being. Besides, there more were pressing issues for him to talk about.

"I've been thinking."

Luna's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "About?"

"Pie recipes," Mamoru drawled. "The mission. What else is there to think about?"

Her whiskers twitched. "There's no need to get snippy."

Mamoru ignored her. "It's just… You've been running up and down the city for nearly a week now, right?"

"Yes," Luna murmured, her small head drooping. "And I've had no luck. Not even an inkling of where the next Senshi could be, much less the princess."

"I feel as though we're being stretched too thin," Mamoru confided, resting his chin on a fist. "There's only three of us, not counting you. And with only Rei to do the heavy lifting and the promise of an insanely hectic semester for me…."

"Yes?"

Mamoru exhaled sharply. It was like ripping off a bandage. Best to get it over with quickly and deal with the pain right off.

"I'm thinking of taking a break from school."

Luna's reaction was more or less predictable in feeling, but not in action. Rather than immediately begin berating him verbally, she arched her back and hissed, extending claws that suddenly appeared quite deadly. Mamoru found himself leaning back without thinking.

"I really love that we can talk out our issues like civilized adults," he deadpanned.

She spat. "What am I supposed to do? Tap dance? You're dropping out!"

"It's amazing how I say one thing, and people hear another," Mamoru remarked. "I am not dropping out. I am taking a break."

"I fail to see the difference."

"I plan on going back."

"Mamoru, I know you were a little overworked—"

"I barely slept during last term," Mamoru interrupted. "And this next one promises to be much harder. Eventually, I'll be observing at the hospital, and God forbid this thing is still going on when I'm supposed to be in residency… I'm sorry, Luna, but I don't see how I can balance school and fighting the Dark Kingdom at the same time. It's too much."

Luna's tail fluffed out menacingly. "I don't like it. I don't want you to put your life on hold for this."

Mamoru laughed drily. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you found me."

She looked briefly stung, but cats apparently had tougher skin than one would think. "I think you'll regret this. You won't be able to go back to your university."

Mamoru shrugged. "So I'll transfer. Maybe I can look into finishing my degree abroad when all of this is over."

"And just how will you explain this time off? You can hardly tell the truth!"

Mamoru held his hands up in mock surrender. "All right. Calm down. I haven't formally withdrawn my name. It's just something I've been thinking over."

"Well, I'm of the opinion that you should stop thinking it over at once."

Mamoru rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "Considering it's my life and my degree, I'd think you'd be thrilled I mentioned it to you at all."

Mamoru learned approximately three seconds later that this was precisely the wrong thing to say.

-----

After finishing her slow ascent up the stairs and hobbling into her bedroom, Usagi shut the door as quietly as possible. She dropped her crutches and threw herself on the mussed covers, gathering her pillows and stuffed rabbits into her arms. She buried her face into the smooth, cool cloth and let out a loud, but now muffled, groan. That accomplished, she turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

Everything was coming undone, and she didn't know how to help. She knew she should try being a better sister and do more than tiptoe around Shingo. She ought to do something to help him. The trouble was, she didn't know how to make it better.

Truth be told, even if Usagi were smarter, she wasn't sure she was grounded enough to be of much use anyway. After hearing about Motoki, she'd felt off-balance. Usagi didn't know what to be most distraught about. That Motoki was upset, that he wasn't there, that she was killing herself over him, or that he'd had a girlfriend all this time.

"Idiot," she murmured. "Of course he had someone. He's too great of a guy not to. Not like his jerk best friend." She dragged her teeth across her lower lip. "I just wish he'd told me… I wish I'd met her… Maybe then I wouldn't have liked him so much."

She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "That's a lie, Usagi. You shouldn't tell lies. Good girls don't lie."

She found herself wondering for what felt like the fiftieth time if Motoki's girlfriend -- Reika, that was her name: Nishimura Reika -- was a good person. Was she nice to him? Did she bake him cookies? Was she pretty? Did she love him? Did he love her?

So many questions she wanted to ask, but couldn't because she couldn't find Motoki. She wanted to know all of this, but most of all, she wanted to know if he was okay.

Usagi frowned, snorting. "I'm beginning to get desperate enough to find Mamoru and ask him."

Suddenly, there was a quiet knock on the door. Usagi sat up quickly, checking her reflection to see if it was obvious she'd been crying. Her blue-eyes were red-rimmed, but not much more than they had been at breakfast. She brushed off any last evidence of tears and then called out, "Come in!"

Her brother poked his pale head in. Not for the first time, Usagi found herself frowning at his hollowing cheeks and sunken eyes. He was beginning to look like an old, frightened man trapped in a small boy's body.

"Mom wants us to go to the store with her."

Usagi tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

"I guess Dad took the car when he wasn't supposed to. She needs us to help her carry things back." He paused, lowering his voice to answer what she couldn't bear to ask. "He went to work. Again."

"But it's Sunday!" Usagi hissed.

Shingo just shrugged.

"Besides, how can I help her carry anything? I'm on crutches!"

Shingo hesitated. "She said you could just carry light things in plastic bags and sling them over your wrists." He swallowed. "But I think she just doesn't want to leave you alone."

Usagi's eyes softened. Her mother worried like everyone else. In other circumstances, Usagi might have insisted on staying home, but she knew things weren't going well for her mother with Shingo's fear, her father's absence, and Usagi's own inability to make things easier. She could do this much.

Still, she grumbled about it just to give the situation some semblance of normalcy. "Fine," she muttered, reaching down for her crutches. "Might as well. I don't have anything else to do."

"You're not going to walk back down the arcade today?"

"Maybe," she answered, struggling to her feet. "If I'm not too tired out from this."

"It's not a long walk," he reminded her.

She laughed sadly and started to make her way out of the room. "For me, going to the bathroom is a long walk."

Shingo gave her a sympathetic look and then turned to get dressed. Usagi stared after him, suddenly missing the days when he would have just called her fat or lazy. This quiet, polite Shingo was not her brother. It disturbed her beyond words that she could actually miss his bratty behavior in favor of this other Shingo. But if he was so nervous that he couldn't even risk her wrath, his own sister, she didn't want him.

"Come back soon," she whispered as he shut his own door. "I miss you."

-----

The walk to the grocery store took nearly twice as long because of Usagi, but Ikuko didn't mind. She wasn't in much of a hurry to get back to a house so somber they may as well have been in mourning. Being out in the sunshine made her feel somewhat better about their situation, even if Shingo jumped at every passing car and Usagi's normally bright blue eyes were dull.

"So," Usagi panted as the automatic doors slid open. "What exactly do you need?"

"Your father says we're out of coffee," Ikuko answered, glancing down at her list. "We also need eggs, milk, paper towels – you can probably carry that, Usagi – and some things for dinner the next few nights. Oh, and some cleaning supplies. Don't worry, your brother and I will handle most of this. Won't we, Shingo?" She glanced over to her left, where Shingo had been during the walk down, and found empty air.

Ikuko's heart lodged in her throat. Missing. Her son was missing. She'd brought him with her so nothing would happen to him, and now she'd lost him because of a damn grocery list! Her purse fell to the ground, and she started to turn, prepared to run and retrace her steps until she found him. She opened her mouth to scream his name.

And then she saw him, standing just outside the doors.

She jogged back through the doors, instantly wrapping Shingo in a sudden, potentially embarrassing embrace. She felt him tense in her arms, but sadly, she suspected it had nothing to do with boyish pride. "Shingo! Don't do that! I thought… Well, it doesn't matter what I thought, but you scared me half to death."

"Shingo?" Usagi asked tentatively, leaning down from her crutches, her pale brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"

Ikuko leaned back and took a very long look at her son. He'd grown increasingly pale, but now he seemed chalk white. His eyes looked so wide she felt an outlandish concern that they'd tumble out of his skull. His back was so straight that his whole body was shaking, and his mouth hung open, a high-pitched whine whistling from his lips.

"Oh, my," Ikuko muttered, taking her son's face between her hands. "Shingo? God, you're freezing. What's the matter? Shingo, talk to me."

"It's the crowd."

Ikuko craned her neck to look at her daughter, who had somehow managed to retrieve the purse without toppling over. She was so used to hearing Usagi whine and sound consistently unsure of herself. Listening to the certainty in her fourteen-year-old's voice left her uneasy. "The crowd?"

"I think so anyway," Usagi said softly. "He hasn't really been in a crowd since… you know."

"Oh," Ikuko murmured, feeling impossibly stupid. How insensitive could she be? In her haste to protect her child physically, she had forgotten about his mental concerns. It would have been better just to leave Usagi with him at home and buy fewer things or take someone else's car.

Or she could have just stayed home and let Kenji buy his own damn coffee.

Ikuko shut her eyes and clenched her jaw, steadying herself. Getting upset wouldn't change anything. She smoothed Shingo's hair away from his face. "All right, Shingo. Don't worry. I don't need any help getting the groceries. So why don't you and Usagi stay out here while I pick everything up? Then you can just help me carry it back, and your sister can have a rest." She turned. "Is that all right with you?"

Usagi nodded. "Definitely."

"Good. I won't be long."

Ikuko straightened and started to walk away. She paused just outside the doors, wondering if she ought to tell Usagi not to move, but ultimately decided against it. The walk had tired Usagi out. Besides, her daughter was something of a flake, but lately she'd seemed strangely… capable. She hardly seemed like the same person anymore.

Then Ikuko went inside, grabbed an abandoned cart, and began picking out all of the necessary items. She'd been planning on browsing at her leisure and possibly picking out some wine to unwind, but now she decided against it. It would be best to get only the things they were in desperate need of and leave the rest for another time.

Ikuko sped up and down the aisles, reaching for familiar brands rather than attempting to obtain the best price. Kenji had been obsessing over the bills lately, so she'd been trying to do her best to save money, but with as much overtime as Kenji was putting in, she didn't see a need to cut corners. Soon, she'd gotten everything she absolutely needed. All she needed now was the coffee.

She careened around the corner and quickly remembered why it was a bad idea to be in such a rush at the store. She gasped when she saw a pair of surprised chocolate brown eyes staring into her own. She immediately tried to stop herself or redirect her progress, but she was as clumsy as her daughter in the end. While she just barely managed to miss this stranger, she got her apron caught on a low shelf and felt it rip away from her body. She cried out in surprise as the light cloth fluttered to the ground, torn and fraying. She stared at it and felt her eyes well with tears. Her daughter was hurt, her son was constantly terrified, her husband was avoiding her, and now she couldn't even manage a trip to the grocery store without incident.

What kind of mother was she?

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the stranger said. She might have taken some secret pleasure in the sound of his deep, smooth voice that warmed her skin like a drink of brandy if she hadn't been so frazzled. "I didn't mean to get in your way."

"No," Ikuko croaked, dimly ashamed of her own uncultured tone. She didn't look away from the apron, the one Shingo had bought for her last birthday. She could just barely make out his name on the back. He'd written it in permanent marker, but countless washes had faded it over time. The tear went right through the 'h.' "No, I should have been more careful."

The stranger crossed into her line of vision. He was tall and quite handsome with a nice smile. She wondered if he loved his mother or if he had a wife he spent time with on Sundays when things were hard.

He crouched down and inspected the apron with his back to her. She didn't know what he was doing with it, but whatever it was, he seemed to be taking his time. It felt like a full minute before he got to his feet again. His smile wasn't quite as wide. "I'm afraid there's a fair amount of damage. If you want, I could get you another one."

She reached out and brushed her hand against the fabric. She felt some sort of spark, like static shock. Then her fingers clamped around the apron like a claw.

"No," she said, her voice strangely clear. "It's all right. I'll just sew it back up. I don't mind. I quite like sewing." This of course was patently untrue, but Ikuko could certainly figure out how to patch it. It wouldn't be pretty, but it would be useable.

He smiled and bent his head as if he were tipping an invisible hat. "All right then. Sorry once again."

She didn't answer him as he walked away. She just stood there for a moment, staring down at the apron.

It was odd. Just a few minutes ago she'd felt like a basket of nerves and overtired. But now she felt energized. And it was a good thing too, she realized. She'd been letting the housework go during this family crisis, but now she felt that wasn't acceptable. She couldn't very well expect to have a happy family with all that dust in the living room, now could she?

Resolved, Ikuko sped towards the checkout line, knocking into one woman's cart on the way and cutting another one off at the open register. She paid for her purchases and then wheeled the cart out to where Usagi and Shingo were waiting.

Both of her children straightened from where they leaned against the wall. Usagi gave her a reassuring smile, her hand on Shingo's shoulder. "That was quick."

"Told you it wouldn't take long," Ikuko chirped, gathering up several bags in her arms.

Usagi and Shingo gaped. "Mama, aren't you taking too much? There's only one bag left!"

"No, I'm fine," she insisted. "Come on. I've got a lot to do at home. Can't waste time lolly-gagging."

She was on her way instantly, humming to herself as Usagi and Shingo did their best to keep pace with her. She was determined to make it home in less time than it had taken them to get there. Yes, Usagi might be tired, but the exercise would certainly do her some good. Besides, she was young and resilient. They both were. In spite of her worries, Ikuko suddenly felt as though everything would be all right, and it would be all right because she wouldn't have it any other way.

It took her three blocks to realize that she'd forgotten the coffee.

-----

"Crescent Beam!"

The golden light streaked forward, blowing a hole the size of a baseball through the smooth flesh. The life instantly slipped away from its leaf-green eyes, and it crumbled, a worthless carcass.

Sailor V nodded brightly and then turned to where her guardian hid. "See. Told you I could take it out in less than five minutes."

Artemis emerged from behind the dumpster, grumbling, "That took at least six."

"It did not!"

"It couldn't have been five."

"You're a cat! It's not like you have a watch."

Artemis twitched his whiskers, frowning as much as his feline features would allow. "Fine. Maybe it was five."

Sailor V beamed.

"But then it must have been one weak youma."

Her shoulders drooped. "You're so mean." She paused. "Well, that did seem really easy. But it would make sense that Kunzite would hold back his better hunters. After all, he's just trying to supplement what Nephrite's doing."

Artemis glanced over at the fallen demon. "Do you think he'll retrieve it?"

Sailor V scoffed. "Please. It's not like they're his pets." Still, she bent down and scooped him up and then pushed off the ground hard, soaring upwards. She laid one hand down on the edge of the building and swung herself onto the roof. Then she sank down on the ground, leaning back on her elbows.

"Taking a break, are we?" Artemis asked, lightly jumping to the ground.

"I think I deserve it after that fantastic display," she said with a grin. In the next moment that grin twisted into a frown. It happened so fast, Artemis's head spun. "Besides, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Recognizing a serious tone that would no doubt seem mythic to her teachers, Artemis sat, curling his tail around his knees. "You're worried."

"I always worry," she reminded him. "It's an inherited trait."

"They'll be all right you know."

"Maybe," she muttered, pursing her lips. "I just don't like the publicity they've been getting. I like the debate about them even less." Her eyes darkened. "And don't get me started on the military interference."

Artemis hissed in irritation. "Imbeciles. Sticking their noses into things they don't understand."

"At least they haven't been able to do anything substantial since the hospital attack," she said. "But their response time has been getting better. What if next time they manage to come in during the battle? They have guns. I don't like guns. They're so… modern. They don't seem like the right weapons."

"Worse comes to worst, you can always just lead them away from the action."

"I'd rather not have to," she admitted, drawing her hand away. "Besides, you're the one lecturing me about blowing my cover too soon."

He shrugged. "I'm just saying in case of emergency."

She wrinkled her nose. "Emergencies. I like those less than I like guns."

"And here I thought you liked surprises."

"Not _bad_ surprises."

"My mistake," he chuckled.

Suddenly, they heard a sharp scream echo through the night. Sailor V was on her feet in a moment, Artemis already gathered in her arms. He looked up to see a triumphant smirk already lighting up her face.

"Bet I can do it in five again."

He smirked. "You're just too chicken to say four."

She bopped him on the head before racing off into the night.

-----

Usagi was wearing what was quite possibly the most gorgeous dress she'd ever seen in her life – not that she could see it all that clearly. It was white and probably silk or satin or some other impossibly rich fabric she'd never worn before. The bust was tight-fitted and embroidered with pearl and lace, while the full skirt fell away from the empire waist. It felt like a dress that had been spun from cloud and moonlight. It was finer than anything she could have hoped to own.

And she was dancing. She knew she was dreaming because she moved gracefully. She didn't trip even once, performing complicated spins and dips without the slightest bit of effort or hesitation. She pouted a little, resentful that she could be so elegant in her dreams and so spastic in real life.

She moved from partner to partner, trading one tuxedoed man for another, until her hand slipped into another's. She knew in an instant that this partner was important. Her face broke into what she hoped was a beautiful smile for the man she knew was Tuxedo Kamen.

"I knew you'd be here," she said in a voice that didn't sound quite like her own. Deeper and more musical. She liked it.

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything," he answered, drawing her closer than her other dance partners would have dared.

Her heart pounded embarrassingly loud in her chest. She was so close to him! Granted, she'd hugged him before, but that had been different. She'd been hysterical and forced herself on him. Now he wanted her to be close. Did that mean he wanted her?

They spun away a little away from the choreographed dancers with their ever-changing partners. He led her to the outskirts of the floor where they could have a moment to themselves. She felt her cheeks warm in a blush. "We shouldn't do this. People will talk."

He laughed. It was the sweetest sound she'd ever heard. To think that someone as serious as him could laugh! It was beautiful. She wanted to record it on a tape and play it every night so she could fall asleep to its sound. "My darling little princess, people started talking the moment I walked through the door with fully armed escort."

Usagi's heart leapt. He called her his princess! That was the sweetest thing he could have said to her. She always wanted to be a princess. They were so beautiful and refined. She couldn't hope to ever be like one, but it was a nice, childish dream she liked to indulge when she tired of longing to simply be a bride.

But she didn't express this. Instead she laughed, and it sounded nothing like her own. She didn't like this nearly as much as she liked her dream voice. "So you couldn't talk him out of it after all?"

Tuxedo Kamen shrugged. There was something weird on his shoulder. Was he wearing armor? "You know how he is: overly cautious."

Usagi wanted to know who this "he" was. The only careful boy she knew was Umino, and she couldn't imagine Umino carrying a weapon with any success. Did he mean Motoki? But how would he know Motoki?

Sadly, she didn't know how to actually ask what was on her mind. She simply laughed again, and Usagi decided she definitely didn't like it. "We shall have to try and cure him of that. It won't do for him to lug a sword to every masque."

_Sword?_

"Good luck to you," Tuxedo Kamen answered taking her through a complicated series of movements. Her dream self didn't bat an eyelash. "I rather suspect he brings it to bed with him."

He dipped her, and she watched in amazement as she brought one of her legs up, one foot perfectly pointed in what she swore was a literal glass slipper.

Usagi heard another laugh, feminine and soprano. She loved it and its owner immediately, though she didn't recognize it at all. Then she heard, "And just what do you bring to your bed, Prince?"

Usagi instantly retracted her approval. Who knew Tuxedo Kamen well enough to give him a nickname? Who did she think she was, calling him Prince?

But her dream self did something infuriating and giggled yet again. Tuxedo Kamen brought her upright, and Usagi turned to face this intruder. She took a deep breath and braced herself to face her rival.

Usagi's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe it! Her mother was in love with Tuxedo Kamen too?

Usagi groaned and blinked rapidly, shaking her head. The image of the fine ballroom slipped away like watery paint sliding down paper. She was back in her room, and her mother was in there. Vacuuming.

Usagi reached over to her endtable and grabbed the bunny alarm clock. She stared at the numbers, not comprehending them for a full minute. They couldn't possibly be right, after all. But one glance out the window to see the sun low in the morning sky confirmed her worst fears.

"Mom!" Usagi whined. "Don't you know what time it is?"

"Yes, of course, dear," Ikuko nearly shouted over the vacuum. "It's 5:30. Really, dear, I know it's not a digital clock, but you are fourteen. Surely you can tell time by now."

Usagi felt her ears turning red. "I know what time it is, Mama. I'm just not sure you realize it's 5:30. _In the morning_!"

Ikuko chuckled. "Well, it wouldn't do to vacuum at 5:30 in the evening, would it? I'll be cooking dinner then."

Usagi gaped. "Mom, all you did yesterday after we got home from the store was clean! What could possibly be dirty after all that?"

Ikuko clucked her tongue in disappointment, pushing Usagi's desk chair out of the way of her vacuum. "Really, sweetie, if you're going to be a housewife, you're going to have to learn how much work it takes to keep a house clean. I've let things go for the past few days, and I just can't rest until it's all set to rights."

"But I could sleep!" Usagi insisted. "I was sleeping. And having a very nice dream."

Ikuko patted her on the head as she swept past, still pushing the vacuum cleaner. "You can have it again tonight."

Usagi moaned, practically throwing the clock back into place. She wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep, but if her mother really wanted to clean her room, clearly nothing on this earth would stop her. Getting any more shut-eye was out of the question. She shoved the covers off, pulled herself upright with the crutches, and shoved her feet into her bunny slippers. "At least tell me you made breakfast."

"Downstairs. You better hurry before your father and brother finish it all."

Normally, this threat would be enough to send Usagi hurrying to the table, but at this hour, nothing short of a fire or alien invasion would get her moving. So it was a slow trip out of her bedroom and down to the kitchen. And when she got there, she realized that there was no possible way Shingo and her father could have ever hoped to consume all the food before her.

Not only had Ikuko made pancakes, something she usually only did on Sundays, but she had made a wide variety of pancakes – Usagi could identify blueberry, chocolate chip, and apple cinnamon from where she stood. She also saw that there was a stack of waffles and one of French toast. As she drew closer, she also discovered a plate full of ham, an assortment of eggs that included scrambled, over easy, and sunny side up, and finally, a bowl of fruit salad with all the grapes peeled just as Shingo liked.

"Did Mom sleep?" Usagi asked breathlessly.

"She said she had insomnia," her father admitted groggily. "I had no idea she was doing this."

Usagi opened and closed her mouth three times before she managed to speak again. "I've never seen this much food in my life."

Shingo leaned back in his chair, holding his bulging stomach. "So many pancakes…"

"There were more?!"

"He ate the whole stack of buttermilk after his mother practically shoved them in his mouth," Kenji muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Unbelievable. All this effort put into breakfast, and no coffee. Thank God we still had tea. She woke me up an hour ago cleaning."

Usagi turned to Shingo, expecting him to volunteer his own information. He simply continued groaning about how full he was.

"I think he's been awake for half an hour," Kenji said.

Usagi laid her crutches against the table and sat down. Kenji helped her push her chair in. "I just… I can't believe she did all of this."

"Neither can I," Kenji muttered. "I've been too shocked to eat any of it."

Usagi sighed and reached forward, grabbing a slice of French toast first. "You'd better dig in. I bet Mom will be mad if you don't eat anything."

Kenji shrugged and began spooning some of the fruit salad onto his plate. Then he reached around behind the mountain of pancakes and pulled out a plate of homemade croissants Usagi hadn't seen before.

The rest of breakfast passed in silence, aside from Shingo's occasional moan. A few weeks ago, Usagi's father would have led the conversation at breakfast, asking them about what they planned to do and pulling other topics from the air, waking them all up with talking instead of vacuuming. But Kenji remained withdrawn for the rest of the meal, hunched over his plate and cup of tea until he was finished. Then he rose and went upstairs, presumably to dress for work.

Usagi sighed at his retreating back, stabbing at her waffle. She was sick of watching her family do this to themselves. She'd been sitting around most mornings, waiting until she thought Motoki might be at work and found herself constantly disappointed. She didn't think she could take the routine today. It was time to shake things up.

"If Mom asks, I went out for a walk."

-----

Mamoru slowed to a stop at his usual bridge, bending at the waist and resting his hands on his thighs. He'd always loved his daily run, but lately he knew he'd been overdoing it. He assumed that the fighting would inevitably make him healthier, which would then mean he could push himself more. He continually neglected to factor his habitual lack of sleep, which made even his usual pace seem grueling.

Mamoru straightened and turned to face the river, letting his hands dangle over the edge. He also didn't usually run quite this early. It was barely dawn. Unfortunately, he'd been on the receiving end of yet another dream. Nothing special about it – shadowy princess begging him to find the Ginzuishou. But he knew better than to try and go back to sleep after one of those. Since he hadn't woken up Luna for once, he decided he had nothing better to do and went for the jog.

Now that he wasn't focusing on his heart rate or breathing techniques, there was little to do but actually consider his immediate future. He'd been serious about leaving school for the next term. These weeks without having to worry about homework and studying on top of fighting the Dark Kingdom had been blissful comparatively. He even slept occasionally, though still not well enough. He didn't see how he was going to go back to the grueling pace of the previous semester. Just thinking about it made him nauseous.

But Luna was right to be concerned. He didn't much relish the idea of putting his life on hold either. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if there was much of an alternative.

The most upsetting aspect about the situation would be that he would not be able to return to his university. He had heard that American universities were understanding of students needing to take a semester or even a year off in the middle of obtaining their degree for personal reasons. Japanese schools were not so lenient without a very good reason. Too bad he didn't have one they'd believe.

He'd have to attempt to apply for a transfer once he'd gotten everything sorted, which he knew would be difficult in spite of his stellar grades. His best hope was probably studying abroad somewhere. But that would only be an option if they were able to defeat the Dark Kingdom in time for the Spring Semester in the States. He decided not to think of the possibility that this could go on for longer.

Worst of all, it meant putting his dream on hold. He'd wanted to be a doctor ever since he woke up in the hospital and forgotten his name, his parents, everything that had come before. The doctors and nurses there had been impossibly kind, doing everything they could to improve his health in addition to sparking his memories. They had failed in the latter, but succeeded in the former enough to inspire him to follow in their footsteps. If he took a semester or even a year off, it would be putting off his dream.

And he may even be putting it off indefinitely.

With a shudder, he spun around, prepared to take off running once again so he could stop thinking about it. However, when he did so, he immediately had to skid to a stop before he bowled over a girl walking in the opposite direction along the bridge.

"Sorry!" he apologized immediately, bowing. "I didn't see—"

But then he did see. The long blonde pigtails trailing past the knees, including one in a brace – a petite body held up by a pair of crutches. It seemed once again the universe had conspired to bring him face to face with his other greatest enemy. Strange that he had to keep saving his nemesis's neck.

"Oh," Usagi muttered without enthusiasm. "Hello."

He raised an eyebrow. "What? Not 'Hello, jerk?'"

Usagi shrugged and hobbled over to the thick railing. She leaned against it, and Mamoru noticed she seemed almost as tired as he was. He'd broken his leg playing soccer in high school, and remembered with dull sympathy that getting around on crutches was not as easy as it looked. "Too early. Too tired."

"Huh," he murmured, glancing towards the still rising sun. "Guess it is pretty early for you."

She groaned and leaned forward until it seemed as though she might tip over the side. Mamoru carefully edged forward in case he had to perform some early morning heroics. "It's too early for anyone in their right minds… which I guess explains why you're out here."

"Don't make me laugh so hard. I might strain something."

She waved a hand at him, dismissing his attempt to get a rise out of her. Apparently it really was too early for her to do much of anything. He was half-tempted to leave before she bored him to death.

But only half.

"Anyway, for your information, I'm not usually out this early either," he confided, resting his back against the railing. "Couldn't sleep."

"Maybe if you didn't drink all that coffee."

He shrugged. "Maybe. You?"

"My mother," Usagi moaned in that voice Mamoru had heard so many other girls at his high school use several years before. The only difference was he no longer felt the need to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from snapping that they ought to be grateful they had one. He didn't feel the need, but he did it anyway.

"She was vacuuming my room," Usagi elaborated. "_At 5:30_. Who does that? Did your mother ever do that?"

His teeth sank deeper into the moist flesh. "No."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman."

He shut his eyes and for the thousandth time, tried to picture his mother. He tried to push beyond the mysterious silhouette to see her face. He tried to rid his mind of the sound of her echoing scream as they soared off the cliffside and tried to remember her voice, her laugh, her song. He tried to dredge up the buried memories, tried to know who he was before he woke up in that hospital bed.

And for the thousandth time he found nothing at all. His mind was an empty desert. A vast ocean. A bottomless pit. A tomb.

"I guess so," he murmured softly.

Usagi sighed loudly and spun around on her good heel. Then she sank to the ground so quickly Mamoru wondered if she was masking a klutz attack. "The worst part is that I can't even be mad at her." She looked up at Mamoru, her bright blue eyes soft as pillow down. "We've all been pretty tense the past few weeks what with… well, you know."

She reached down and gently brushed her leg brace with her fingertips.

"Yeah," he muttered, swallowing his guilt like foul medicine.

"Shingo's been jumpy ever since the attack on the arcade. The first one I mean. You were there." She blinked, straightening. "Come to think of it, where were you that whole time?"

He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was in the bathroom the whole time. Missed all the excitement."

"Lucky," she said with some resentment. "Wish Shingo could have been there… Anyway, it's gotten worse since this last one. I guess since it was at the same place, he must have relapsed. Or gotten worse actually." She banged her head lightly against the stone. "And Daddy's been no help. He's been spending all of his time at work. Do you know he actually went to work on Sunday? No one goes to work on Sunday! He said he had something to do, but I think he just didn't want to be home.

"Mom's been holding it together really well, but yesterday she took Shingo and me to the store, and Shingo… panicked. He wouldn't even go in." She pulled her good leg towards her chest and hugged it, resting her chin on her kneecap. "I think Mom blames herself for it. Like she should have known he'd freak out like that. I guess it made her… snap. So now she thinks she has to clean the house and make enough breakfast to feed the Japanese Army."

Mamoru folded his arms across his chest, narrowing his eyes. "What's Shingo been doing? Exactly."

Usagi blinked, as if realizing for the first time that she'd just revealed personal information to him. The soft eyes hardened to steel quick as a heartbeat. "Why do you care?"

Since he could hardly tell her the truth, he just smiled as gently as he could manage. "Please."

Usagi continued frowning, but after a moment she acquiesced. "Well, he hasn't been sleeping much. One time last week when he actually was sleeping, he had a nightmare. He woke up screaming, and when we tried to calm him down, he nearly hit my mom." She gave her leg an extra squeeze. "I don't think he was really awake yet. He doesn't want to go out of the house, and when he does, he jumps at every little noise like he thinks one of those monsters is going to pop out. He even goes out of his way to be nice to me so I don't get mad at him." She laughed, but her voice sounded thick.

Mamoru didn't know what he would do if she started crying.

"It sounds like PTSD to me."

"Eh?"

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Mamoru explained. "I'm surprised you don't have it too actually; you went through something a lot more disturbing than him, but he's younger and everyone handles these things differently. It's basically an anxiety disorder people get after experiencing some kind of traumatic event. Actually, diagnoses are way up ever since all of this… stuff started happening."

Mamoru wondered exactly how long the others would laugh if they knew he had just reduced their mission and the war to "stuff."

He had been hoping that the information would make Usagi feel better, but now she looked up at him with eyes beginning to water. He felt his heart start to pound so fast he may as well have been running again. He wondered if there was an anxiety disorder about men who had panic attacks when women cried around them.

"Is it… curable?"

"Yes. Sort of. Based on what I've read, cognitive therapy works best when it comes to getting over traumatic events. That and learning stress management techniques, like meditation and breathing exercises."

She stared at him for a moment, then ducked her head, trying to wipe at her eyes discreetly. "Mom's been trying to talk to Dad about getting Shingo therapy."

"Good," he said, impossibly thankful for the woman's sense on top of Usagi reigning herself in. "I hope it all works out."

"Thanks." She sniffed loudly. "How do you know so much about this stuff anyway? You're not really a psychopath, are you?"

He shook his head. "Just pre-med."

Usagi whipped her head back up to him so fast he was concerned for her neck. "Really? You're studying to be a doctor?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

Her cheeks flushed pink. "Sorry, I didn't mean… I guess I just didn't picture you doing anything but sitting at the arcade drinking coffee, stealing my friends, or abusing your cat."

"I do not _abuse_ my cat."

"Uh-huh. Sure you don't."

Mamoru swatted at one of her buns. "Shut up, Odango."

"Don't call me that!" she shouted, pushing his hand away. Then she heaved yet another epic sigh. "I should probably be getting back home. Naru's getting back from vacation today, and she said she'd stop by." She began to push herself up and then realized that she couldn't. "Oh, this was a very bad idea."

"I had thought that," Mamoru teased. He pushed himself off the barricade and offered his hand. "Here, let me help."

She eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you're not going to toss me into the river?"

He scoffed. "Come on. You can't think I'm that big of a jerk."

She gave him a look that clearly informed him that yes, she did think that.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Cross my heart and hope to die, I won't throw you into the river."

"Or drop me on the ground?"

"Or drop you on the ground."

"Or—"

"For heaven's sake, would you just let me help you up?"

Usagi still seemed hesitant, but after a moment, she realized that she really had no other way to get up without either embarrassing or hurting herself. So it was with great reluctance and a sour face that she took Mamoru's hand. Once he was sure she was ready, he pulled her up. Unfortunately, he overestimated how much she weighed (with all those sundaes she packed away, he really didn't think he could be blamed for this mistake). As a result, he pulled too hard. She squealed in surprise and tried to right herself. Mamoru grabbed her other hand to hold her steady. But once she was on her feet, he felt reluctant to let go, enjoying the feeling of the way their fingers interlocked.

Mamoru suddenly felt very aware of how pink her lips were.

"You can let me go now."

He shook his head rapidly and did as she asked. "Sorry. Guess I don't know my own strength."

"Yeah," she squeaked, her face cherry red as she hopped over to her crutches.

"We really need to stop, er… bumping into each other like that."

"Uh-huh." She sounded like she was choking on the awkwardness in the air.

Mamoru inhaled sharply. "Guess I'd better be on my way."

"Sure." Then bit her lip and said, "Hey, Mamoru?"

He stopped. "Hm?"

"Thanks," she muttered, looking somewhat resentful that she had to say it. "About Shingo. It's nice to know… I'm glad I know what it is."

"You're welcome," Mamoru said, hoping his smile was reassuring. "It'll be okay, you know. Your brother, your parents… even your leg."

She smiled back at him, her teeth sparkling in between those pink lips. "I know."

He started to jog off and with his back to her, raised his hand to wave goodbye. "Have a good day, Odango Atama!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Mamoru chuckled at the sound of the familiar scream. "Yeah, you'll be just fine."

-----

Ikuko vigorously wiped her brow, standing back from Usagi's room with a feeling of extreme pride and accomplishment. Normally, it was up to her daughter to keep her space clean, but as long as Ikuko couldn't sit still, she saw no reason not to do it herself. Now it was thoroughly scrubbed, vacuumed, dusted, and decluttered. Just like the rest of her home.

Because a happy home was a clean one.

She quickly gathered up all of the cleaning supplies and went off to put them away. It wouldn't do to have a clean home but have all of the cleaning materials still sitting out, of course. It always threw off the mood of a room to have a feather duster or a bottle of Windex lying about. Once those were out of the way, she went downstairs to find Shingo sitting on the couch. Alone.

Ikuko paused at the foot of the stairs, staring at the unoccupied living room. She swallowed, but her mouth was dry. "Where's everyone else?"

"Well, Dad's at work—"

Work. _Work_. Of course, Kenji was always at work lately. But didn't he see how much she'd put into cleaning up the house? She hadn't even slept the night before! Couldn't he take one day off to appreciate her work rather than hiding at his own?

"—and Usagi said she was going for a walk."

A walk. Ridiculous! Ikuko knew getting around on those crutches drained her daughter, and she also knew that the injury hurt far more than the blonde cared to let on. Why had she felt the need to get out? Was being at home really that horrible for all of them? Was she such a horrible mother that her family didn't want to stay at the home she'd worked so hard to improve for them? Had all her effort been for nothing?

Ikuko clenched her hands into fists to keep them from trembling.

"Thanks again for breakfast, Mom," Shingo said. "It was fantastic. I'm just sorry we couldn't eat it all."

Breakfast. Food. Yes, that was it! Getting the house in order was only half the battle. A happy family was a full family.

"You're welcome, Shingo," Ikuko called out brightly. "Just wait until lunch!"

And a happy family stayed home.

-----

Nephrite was grateful for the numerous old trees lining the block of the Tsukino's street. He didn't relish having to blend in to the human population in order to watch his targets. It was degrading. He much preferred skulking about in these leafy shadows, hidden from the world and observing Ikuko from afar.

Thus far, things had been progressing as normal. He was somewhat concerned about the lack of discord in the home stemming from Ikuko's odd behavior. Normally, the subject would start to become belligerent by this point. Every time he had gotten a good look at Ikuko, she'd seemed perfectly content if exceptionally energized.

Then again, it was possible that she was simply having a reverse reaction. It was not entirely unheard of after all. Rather than becoming ruled by one's anger, one was ruled by another emotion. Apparently, Ikuko had chosen unrelenting cheerfulness.

Nephrite's consolation for this odd behavior was that it was not in any way similar to that of Reika's. And when he looked at the older woman's shadow, he did not experience the sensation that he was standing on the edge of a pit, that leaning in too far would send him tumbling into an abyss that had no end. She was human. She would not sprout a youma that would name herself, that would turn on him, that would speak of mysteries he had forgotten.

_One of the Seven Dark Warriors. One of the Shadow Creatures._

Again, Nephrite mulled over Rikokayder's words, seeking out the meaning behind the cryptic hints. He dove deep into the recesses of his memory, pushing past the 20th century and slipping back a thousand years. He remembered the screams of battle, the feel of the spear in his hand, Queen Serenity's doleful cry when she saw her precious daughter among the fallen. But he remembered no group of youma that called themselves by such a name.

"The greatest of all youma," he repeated, scoffing. "Pathetic."

But even keeping this in mind, he couldn't help but worry. In addition to naming herself and claiming her own greatness, the youma had claimed that it had fought against him. Still more worrisome, it purported to have beaten him.

It was ridiculous of course. He being conquered by a mere demon? Ludicrous. Perhaps these were stories whispered to the youth of the Dark Kingdom to give them confidence. Perhaps it was a fairy story similar to that of the human's Santa Claus, if the youma had such a culture. Jadeite would have known, but Nephrite had never seen any reason to get close to those multi-colored vermin. They disgusted him as much as the humans. Their place in his life was to serve a purpose: humans were fuel and youma were the tools to collect that fuel. Nothing more.

But one youma had claimed that she had defeated him. Not just her, but six others like her.

Despite his confidence or arrogance, despite his superior abilities, and despite all of his assurances to the contrary, he couldn't help but wonder. Yes, he had been able to easily defeat one youma who claimed she was born of the shadow. Yes, he could have killed her far sooner than he had. Yes, he could have even done it without calling in the Leo.

But could he fend off seven at once?

-----

The next day, Mamoru decided that it might be a good idea if he checked in on Motoki and Reika. Motoki had moved in at least temporarily to help Reika get her life back on track, and Mamoru had no doubt that both of them were stressing out about their situation. The least he could do was provide a distraction.

At least, this is what Luna told him when she got sick of him sitting on the couch.

"And why don't you tell Motoki about your ludicrous idea?" she'd asked as he walked out the door. "I'm sure he'd agree with me!"

So now Mamoru was standing outside of Reika's apartment, his arms full of crepes from Reika's favorite French bakery. He knocked and was relieved when it was Motoki who opened the door, though he frowned when he got a good look at his towheaded friend.

"You still look like shit," Mamoru informed him gravely.

Motoki nodded. "Yeah, well."

"You don't need a hug, do you?"

"I'm too tired to lift my arms at the moment."

Mamoru held up the box. "I brought sugar."

Motoki's eyes sparkled like a child on Santa's lap. "Please tell me you brought me strawberry?"

"And banana orange for Reika and chocolate for me."

For a moment, Mamoru thought Motoki actually might cry, which would be decidedly worse than Usagi crying. "Bless you."

"My nomination for canonization is already in the mail, I'm sure," Mamoru quipped, stepping into the room and stepping out of his shoes and into the pair of guest slippers. He looked around, attempting to be subtle.

"She's in the bathroom," Motoki said, taking the lavender box from Mamoru. "Your ninja skills are slipping."

Mamoru shrugged. "So I won't make you call me sensei today."

"For that, I am grateful."

Mamoru leaned forward and whispered, "How's she doing?"

Motoki shook his head and walked into the kitchen. "Not well. She's been crying… a lot. I sort of consider it an event when she's not crying. And she hasn't left the apartment since she got home. Hell, it took me an hour today to convince her to even shower." Motoki paused, flipping open the cardboard lid. "She avoids the bathroom as much as she can, and she doesn't turn the light on when she goes in. She doesn't want to see herself in the mirror."

Mamoru hung his head, remembering that Reika's hair was now permanently grey. "So she's showering in the dark?"

"No, I went ahead and covered it," Motoki answered. "Along with all the other mirrors in the house."

"God, that's awful… Is she sleeping all right? Any nightmares or other signs of PTSD?"

Motoki shook his head. "Not really, but it would be too soon to tell at this point. But she has been sleeping a lot. There's not much else to do. She doesn't want to watch TV for some reason. Why do you ask?"

Mamoru shrugged and strode over to the kitchen, snatching up one of the chocolate crepes. "I just ran into Usagi yesterday – yes, and we didn't kill each other in your absence – and I think her brother's having a hard time. Nightmares, panic attacks, fear of crowds, the usual."

Motoki nodded, jamming a strawberry crepe into his mouth. "Sounds like you got the right diagnosis, Dr. Chiba."

He chewed thoughtfully, remembering Luna's suggestion. Motoki had a lot on his mind, but maybe Mamoru could unload just a little bit more without consequence. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. You see, I was thinking I might—"

"Oh. Mamoru."

When Mamoru turned, it was only a matter of divine provenance that he didn't choke on his crepe. To begin with, Reika was wearing Hello Kitty pajamas; Mamoru had never seen her out of designer clothing. Her face was devoid of make-up, and while Mamoru thought she was a naturally pretty girl, the stress of the past few days was weighing heavily on her. Her wet hair was wrapped in a towel, hiding her hair for the time being.

He swallowed the pastry and waved. "Hey, Reika." The statement hung in the air awkwardly, but Mamoru was at a loss as to what to follow it up with. His brain seemed caught between asking how she was, commenting on her looks, or joking that she wasn't crying. None of these seemed like viable options.

"He brought crepes," Motoki volunteered. "He even remembered your favorite flavor. You'd think he was a decent friend or something."

Mamoru laughed drily. "Orange banana is hard to forget."

"Do you want any, Reika?"

"I'm not hungry."

Mamoru frowned. Her voice sounded hoarse. He wondered if it was from crying or screaming into her pillow so Motoki didn't hear.

"You sure?" Motoki asked. "I know you don't like them as much when they're not fresh."

"Yes, I'm sure," Reika snapped, throwing herself on the couch like a petulant teenager and taking care that her towel didn't slip.

Motoki gave Mamoru an imploring look, and it was then that Mamoru realized just what dire straits his friend was in. If Motoki was appealing to him for help with an emotional problem, the couple had officially hit rock bottom.

"Er, so… Read anything interesting lately?"

Motoki inhaled sharply and started waving his hands wildly. Motoki had never really been clear on subtlety in tense situations.

Reika pursed her lips. "Oh, I've been reading some very interesting things lately."

Staring openly at Motoki, Mamoru said, "Well, maybe we shouldn't—"

"Guide books about Africa," she said pointedly. "I'm sure you know all about that, Mamoru. Motoki tells you everything. I was planning on what side trips I wanted to take when I wasn't working. Africa's a beautiful country, you know."

Mamoru nodded nervously. "Looks that way on the Discovery Channel."

"I'll have to tune in more often," Reika said, her voice thick. "Since I won't be going."

Motoki moaned through clenched teeth. "Reika, please—"

"I won't go!" Reika practically shouted, her lower lip trembling. "I don't care if I do get in. Maybe you're right, and I am good enough, but I don't care."

Motoki pushed past Mamoru, reaching out to Reika but not getting close enough to actually touch her. "It would be a wonderful opportunity. Maybe it would do you good to get out of Tokyo."

Reika shook her head forcefully and the towel-turban threatened to topple. "No, Motoki."

"But—"

"I said no!" Reika yelled. Then, to Mamoru's shock, she reached up and ripped the towel off her head. Despite the damp and the frizz, the color was unmistakable. Reika's luxurious hair, the hair that had matched the color of her bay gelding, the hair she had taken so much pride in, shone silver in the afternoon sun. Mamoru couldn't help but balk. Even though he'd prepared himself for it, seeing it was still a shock.

"How can I even think of getting out of the apartment?" she demanded, her eyes filling with tears. "I can't even bear it when you two look at me like this. I couldn't face those looks day after day… pity, surprise, curiosity – I couldn't take it!" She gestured sharply to Mamoru. "He can't even come up with anything to say! He can't ask me how I am, he can't ask about my day, he can't ask about anything after what happened. And who can blame him? There's nothing to say. Nothing anyone can say to me because all I am now is the girl who got attacked!"

Reika choked back a sob and covered her mouth in embarrassment. Then she grabbed her towel from where she'd dropped it and ran back to her bedroom. They heard the lock slide into place and then a few moments later, Reika's muffled sobs.

Once again, Mamoru could think of nothing to say.

"Damn it," Motoki hissed, burying his face in his open palms. "I thought seeing someone else would do her some good."

"Sorry," Mamoru said lamely. "I know I put my foot in it."

Motoki shook his head. "I think it doesn't matter. Anything you said would have set her off."

A particularly loud wail seemed to echo through the apartment.

"I think I'd better go," Mamoru volunteered.

"Yeah… Sorry I'm such a lousy host. Hope you can find something to take up the rest of your day."

"I'll probably just drive around for awhile." Mamoru sighed. "Sorry there's not anything more I can do."

Motoki led Mamoru out of the apartment. "Don't worry about it. It's not like you're a superhero."

That gave Mamoru a bad taste in his mouth. "Right."

"See you later."

"Bye."

Motoki shut and locked the door behind him. Before Mamoru went on his way, he pressed his forehead against the yellowing wallpaper, breathing in so deeply he felt his lungs would burst. On the exhale, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Reika. I'm so sorry."

Because even though there wasn't much he could do now, there was a lot more he could have done before. Reika might have survived Nephrite's attack, but Mamoru still hadn't been able to save her.

He couldn't let that happen ever again.

-----

For the first time in nearly a week, Kenji arrived home from work on time. He had been planning to stay later, but his boss had all but carried him out of the office and buckled his seatbelt for him. If gas hadn't been so expensive thanks to paranoia caused by the current situation, he might have driven around for an hour or two. But he didn't want to waste the money, and besides, Ikuko probably had dinner on the table waiting for him.

When he arrived home, he was surprised to find both of his children waiting for him in the foyer. He was equally surprised by the looks on their faces. Neither one of them had been acting much like themselves lately, but each of their expressions hit him like a heavyweight boxer punching him in the gut. Shingo, who Kenji had always saw as an overconfident child, now stood two steps behind his sister, his head bent and those dark circles blooming like wine stains around his eyes. And while part of him was pleased to see Usagi standing straight and tall despite her injury, to see the gravity on her face and the sharp set of her jaw, he couldn't help but mourn the fact that his little girl had been forced to grow up so fast.

"What's the matter?" he asked, setting aside shoes and briefcase.

"Mom," his children chorused.

He winced, having assumed as much. "What's she done? Rearranged the furniture again?"

"You know how she's been talking about doing a cuisine from around the world night?" Usagi asked, her voice and face equally sour.

Kenji shrugged. "Yeah. Did she do it?"

"We've got traditional dishes from China, France, Italy – Sicily, not inland - India, South America, and I believe West Africa."

He blanched. "Wow, that's quite a spread. She must have been at that all day."

"You have no idea," Shingo murmured.

"But you see, that's not the kicker," Usagi deadpanned. "She didn't just make one dish from each place. She made full meals. Five-course meals."

Kenji had not been shocked enough for his jaw to drop since Ikuko had said yes to his proposal twenty years prior. This information did it.

"What!"

Usagi nodded in sad agreement. "She basically commandeered three other kitchens on the block to do it. I can't tell you how many times Shingo and I have been yelled at today by the other mothers in the neighborhood."

Kenji sighed in frustration, shoving his hand through his hair. "God… I don't even want to think about how much this has cost us."

Usagi stared at him for a moment, the blue eyes she'd gotten from him widening. For a moment, he thought she was going to burst into tears. But although her voice was thick and her eyes wet, she didn't cry once during what she said to him next.

"Daddy, I love you. I know I don't have to tell you that for you to know it, but I think you need to hear it before I say this… You are being absolutely horrible to Mom. Don't you see what she's doing? She thinks we're all losing it, and you know she isn't really wrong, but it's not like you've been here to see it. She has been doing her best to try and stay grounded while the rest of us can't, and I think she's snapped. You know how you thought she slept on the couch last night because she couldn't make her legs stop twitching? Well, she didn't. She knitted us all scarves, hats, and gloves. Three sets each. _In August_. I don't know what she's trying to do, and it's not my job to figure it out. It's your job, which you'd know if you stayed around once in awhile!" Visibly shaking, Usagi stretched out her hand, pointing to the kitchen where Kenji could hear Ikuko banging pots. "So don't you dare turn around and say you forgot something at the office just so you don't have to deal with it. Help her!"

Kenji didn't think he'd ever heard Usagi speak so passionately or maturely about anything. For a brief, childish moment, he wanted to take a moment to explain why he hadn't been home, but he knew an instant later that it didn't matter. He'd been wrong to stay away, even with the best of intentions. He felt intensely ashamed that he'd let things get this bad. He'd hoped Ikuko would be able to hold them all together; he'd been selfish to throw it all on her.

He walked forward and pressed his lips against his daughter's forehead. "You're right. I'm sorry." Then he kept moving, laying a hand on Shingo's small shoulder, and headed for the kitchen.

He couldn't believe the mess when he crossed the threshold. Ikuko, who normally did her best to clean as she went, had let spills remain and what seemed like a hundred ingredients lying on the packed counters. He remembered that three other kitchens in the neighborhood probably looked like this and stifled a groan.

The kitchen was a veritable cornucopia of scents, and while each of the dishes may have been appetizing individually, he felt nauseous underneath the bombardment. He covered his nose with his hand, knowing it would offend her, but deciding it was better than the alternative.

Ikuko spun around, and Kenji's heart sank. Normally, he found something endearing and sexy about Ikuko when she was a little unkempt. But there was nothing remotely attractive about his wife now. Usagi was right; she was coming apart. Her hair hung around her head like a wild violet cloud, and she was covered in a layer of grime and grease from cooking. But the look Ikuko gave him was the worst. It wasn't just shock at seeing him. It was guilt.

"You're home," she whispered in a horrible little voice. "I… I didn't think you'd be getting in this soon. I wanted to have everything laid out for you."

He looked at her in sympathy, hoping she didn't mistake it for pity. "Sweetheart, what are you doing?"

Her face morphed into a mega-watt smile too quickly to be genuine. "Making dinner. You know I've wanted to do this for awhile." Then she began busying herself by adding unknown spices to the shrimp boiling on the stove.

Kenji wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and make her sit down, but he knew better than to try. "Ikuko, you don't have to do this."

"Of course I do! You all need to eat."

"You're killing yourself for no reason," Kenji insisted. "Listen, I know I've… been absent lately, and I can explain that even though I shouldn't have. But right now I need you to sit down."

When Ikuko shook her head, it was more like twitching. "Can't! If I sat down, these would burn, and we can't have that. Why don't you and the kids just wait at the table?"

Kenji reached for her, stopping just short of physically pulling her away from the stove. "Ikuko, please! You need to stop this!"

Ikuko stopped, and for a second, Kenji thought that he'd gotten through to her. Then she slapped the wooden spoon onto the counter and grunted, "Cumin. I forgot to pick up cumin. I have to go get it."

"No," Kenji demanded. "Don't. We need to talk."

"The shrimp won't have the right kick without the cumin, and I'd send you, but you won't be able to find it and bring back coriander or cinnamon instead." She walked past him as if he was a coat rack and sang out, "I'll be back in ten minutes! Just turn those down."

Kenji considered forcing her to stay home, but he suspected that might do more damage than just letting her go and dealing with the problem later. He was completely over his head with this situation. He'd prepared himself for her anxieties about the children, Usagi crying over boyfriends, and Shingo's admittedly bratty behavior. He had no idea what to do with a traumatized son, an injured daughter, and a delusional wife.

Rather than turn them down, Kenji turned the burners off, removing what seemed to be done from the heat. He contemplated just throwing them out, but there was no telling how his wife would react to that. He took a few minutes to clean up the worst of the mess and then went to check on the kids.

He paused when he saw only Shingo.

"Where's your sister?"

-----

Ikuko peeled out of the driveway as if she were on her way to the hospital. And while this may not have been a medical emergency, it was more than a culinary one. Kenji had come home on time. Kenji had said he wanted to talk. Neither of her children had left the house that day.

Her plan was working. By keeping the house in order and cooking for them and doing everything else a good mother did, she was keeping them happy and keeping them with her. As long as they were with her, they were safe. And that was a mother's duty, wasn't it? To keep her children happy and safe.

"Mom, slow down! You're going to kill us!"

It was part of the reason she'd agreed to let Usagi come with her. Kenji may have been turning over a new leaf, but she didn't know if she trusted him to watch both of the kids, even one who was on crutches.

"We'll be fine," Ikuko insisted as she swerved around a car going the speed limit. "Stop worrying."

"I'd love to," Usagi hissed, clinging to the handle above the door in the passenger's seat. "_Slow down_. Or better yet, _stop_. You don't need the conan."

"Cumin."

"Whatever – the point is that it's fine. We won't eat that much food anyway! The fridge is already overflowing with leftovers."

Ikuko shook her head. "Sorry, Usagi. I can't do that."

"Why not?"

Ikuko took her eyes off the road for a moment, which made Usagi cling to the handle even tighter. "I have to keep you happy. I have to keep you safe."

Usagi's eyes softened. "Oh, Mom…" She let go with one hand and laid it on Ikuko's shoulder. "Don't you know already? You've always done that."

A strange sensation spread through her body from where Usagi's hand touched her. Her muscles had felt stiff and tense for the past few days, but the contact immediately began to soothe the aches in her body. She felt as though she could relax, something that had seemed impossible. She felt as if she were being enveloped by a warm, white light.

An instant later, it was gone, and the serenity was forgotten.

"Mom, watch out!"

Ikuko looked up to see someone standing in the road. She gasped and swerved her car to the right, driving directly into the lamppost. The front of the car was crushed like a soda can against the metal. Usagi and Ikuko screamed as their bodies rocketed against the seatbelts and the airbags deployed to cushion their heads.

Once it was over, Ikuko sat there, gasping for air. She wanted to cry with relief when she heard Usagi whimpering next to her. She turned her head to see if the person who had been standing in the road was all right.

But there was no one there.

-----

Mamoru had been out driving ever since he left Reika and Motoki. He would tell Luna later that he was patrolling for suspicious activity, but in reality, he knew he wouldn't be able to sit still. If he didn't do something, he'd have to think – either about his future or how he had failed both Reika and Usagi. And he couldn't bear that.

Later, he wouldn't be sure if he saw the wreck or the hair first. Either way, Mamoru hit the brakes the instant he drove up alongside the crumpled car, jumping out of his car and running over to the passenger side of the car and throwing it open. His heart lurched when he saw that her eyebrow and lip were split.

"Usagi!" he shouted, laying one hand on her shoulder and held up two fingers with the other. "Are you all right? How many fingers am I holding up?"

She whimpered and shoved her face into his forearm, heaving a sob. "Get me out."

"No, you could be hurt. How—"

"I'm fine, two, and if you don't get me out of this car within the next thirty seconds, I am going to kill you."

Against his better judgment, he helped Usagi out of the car, but he could tell almost immediately that she wasn't seriously injured. She was, however, shaking like a frightened mouse. She hugged herself tightly and said, "Check on my mom."

Mamoru hadn't even considered looking after the driver. He began to circle around the back to help Usagi's mother out of the car, but the woman emerged a moment later. She was sporting her own set of bruises and scrapes, but she was also extremely lucky. It was a miracle, in Mamoru's opinion. The car looked more like an accordion.

"Mrs. Tsukino?" Mamoru called out, remembering what Usagi had said about her mother starting to crack underneath the stress her family had been going through. "Why don't you sit down? I'll see if I can flag down some help."

Ikuko smoothed her hands up and down the front of her apron but didn't respond.

Mamoru decided it would be best to calm Usagi down so that she could attend to her mother. He turned to her, unsurprised to find a steady stream of tears coursing down her cheeks. Thankfully, he had something to occupy himself. "What happened?"

Usagi let out a quaking breath. "There was a man in the road. Just standing there. I swear he wasn't there a second before…"

"Where is he now?"

Usagi just shrugged.

Mamoru reached forward and laid his palms against Usagi's skin. He blanched at how cold she was. He quickly stripped off his leather jacket and threw it around her shoulders, rubbing her arms vigorously. "Usagi, I need you to look at me."

She laughed through her tears. "You're using my name."

"Least I could do after a car crash. But, listen – I know you said your mom's been in rough shape lately. I don't want to leave you with her if you're not ready to deal with it, but I need to go get help. Not many people use this road, so it could be ages before someone drives by. Can you look after her?"

The look Usagi gave him once he finished was heartbreaking. It was as if he'd asked her to murder her own puppy.

"My fault."

His head whipped over to Usagi's mother. She was showing obvious signs of stress. She was wringing her hands in a way that made his fingers ache in sympathy, and even in the open air, he could smell that she hadn't washed.

"It's my job to keep you safe," she whispered desperately. "To keep you happy, healthy, fed, warm. I could have killed you."

Mamoru started to feel an ache in his chest. Although he didn't mean to, he couldn't help but think of his own mother. She'd done those things for him once too. Six years of love and care, and he couldn't remember a single day. Almost as if all her hard work had amounted to nothing.

"I'm fine, Mom," Usagi whispered. "It's all right. Don't cry."

He expected Ikuko to tremble; she stood as rigid as a mountain. "Supposed to keep you safe." Her head snapped up to stare them both in the eye, and her gaze frightened him. "Supposed to keep you happy."

All of a sudden, Mamoru doubled over, clutching his stomach, and he realized that the pain in his chest had had little to do with his nostalgic brooding. It had been the start of an all too familiar agony. His head swam in the same way, his stomach churned, and his heart felt like it was going to explode. He broke out into a cold sweat. And that's when he knew. Usagi's mother wasn't giving in to too much stress and worry. She was Nephrite's latest victim.

"Mamoru!" Usagi shouted, hovering over him. "What's wrong?"

How much time did he have? How long would it take to get to the shrine, and would Rei be able to do anything to stop the youma before it emerged?

"Mamoru, answer me!"

It had been Nephrite in the road. It had to be. This was all too planned, too contrived for it to have been someone random who had run off rather than be admonished for such idiotic behavior. If Nephrite was intervening, then it meant that it had to be close.

"Mamoru, please!"

It didn't matter. He had to try.

"I'm fine," he ground out, trying to stand up. "You and your mom need to get in my car."

Usagi blinked. "What? Why?"

"I'll explain on the way," he hissed. "But we have to go now."

Usagi looked ready to protest, but once again, her mother cut her off.

"I'm a bad mother."

Usagi spun towards her; one of her pigtails brushed against Mamoru's arm. "No! That's not true."

Ikuko kept rubbing her apron, and Mamoru knew in that moment that it was the object Nephrite had cursed. "I crashed the car with you in it. I dragged Shingo to the store. Kenji barely even talks to me anymore…"

Mamoru squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. He shouldn't be here for this. It was a private moment – maybe even too private for Usagi to hear, but there wasn't anything he could do to fix that. He had to focus on getting them in the car and getting Mrs. Tsukino to Rei. "We have to go."

"Mama, please don't say things like that," Usagi pleaded.

Ikuko shuddered and buried her hands in her hair. "I can't keep you safe. I can't keep any of you safe."

Mamoru forced himself upright, grabbed Usagi's arm, and shook her. "Usagi. Now."

Usagi acted as though he wasn't even there. "You're a good mother," she maintained. "I love you because you're a good mother."

Ikuko took a deep breath, and Mamoru felt his sickness get that much worse. With his stomach twisting away from him, he realized that there was nothing more he could do to prevent this. And Ikuko opened her mouth and screamed.

"You're better off without me!"

The apron hanging off Ikuko's body exploded with light. Usagi shrieked and started to run towards her mother, but Mamoru held her fast. Together, they watched as the vermillion light deepened, forming a red ring around her mother. Then something like a ghost rose up out of the fabric. It grinned at Ikuko like a skeleton and swept down, swallowing her whole.

"MAMA!" Usagi shouted, struggling against Mamoru's grip.

"Stop," he hissed, pulling her back. "There's nothing you can do now."

Mamoru watched with ill horror as the monster materialized next to Ikuko's fallen body. Perhaps in another time, he might have found it amusing. But the sky blue youma wearing a tighter version of the apron holding a plethora of deadly looking kitchen utensils wasn't the least bit funny now.

Mamoru's mind raced. Usagi wasn't safe here; he knew that above all else. His main priority ought to have been getting her out of the area.

But if he did that, what about everyone else? What about her mother, to begin with? Would she be as lucky as Reika, to get out scarred, but alive? Or would she wither while Mamoru was trying to deliver Usagi to safety? And then there were the innocent bystanders to consider: the drivers, the late night joggers, even the military who might arrive at any moment. He couldn't leave that to chance.

The obvious answer was to transform right here, but he couldn't risk it. Usagi and her family already seemed to be in more trouble than everyone else in Tokyo. He couldn't add to their danger by revealing who he really was.

Letting go of Usagi was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

She whirled around as he ran to the car, and though he couldn't see her, the sound of her voice crushed him. "Where are you going? Mamoru! Don't leave me!"

He threw open the car door and jumped in before he was tempted to do as she asked. He slammed the door and keyed the ignition, the engine roaring over her plaintive cries. He saw in the mirror that she was trying to get near him to stop him, but she couldn't move close enough on her bad leg. He turned away, shifted gears, and sped off into the night.

He dug in his pocket for his communicator and immediately contacted Rei and Ami. Thankfully, they answered in a heartbeat.

"Trouble?" Rei asked.

Mamoru felt like laughing hysterically at the question. Did she think this was a social call? "Definitely."

"Is it like last time?" Ami queried, sounding more intrigued than wary.

"Too soon to tell. But Ami… it's Usagi and her mother."

Mamoru took his eyes off the road for the briefest of moments, but in that time, he watched Ami's face shift from palpable fear to grim determination. Neither of them had done all that much right where Usagi was concerned. Ami wasn't going to make the same mistake again, just like him. "Where?"

He told them location and after receiving their ETAs, signed off. He turned up a side street so that he could double back to Usagi and Ikuko. Mamoru swore to himself that he – or rather Tuxedo Kamen – was going to save her this time. Even at the cost of her hating him.

He swore, pounded his fists against the wheel, and sped off into the night.

-----

"MAMORU!" Usagi screamed as Mamoru's car screeched in his hasty retreat. She couldn't believe he'd just left her like that. She suddenly doubted that it was coincidence that he had spent the first attack on the arcade in the bathroom.

She heard the youma laugh from behind her, and Usagi spun, tripping over her own feet and losing her balance. As the monster circled around the front of the car, Usagi began to scoot backwards, desperate to get away from that horrible thing with those eyes that devoured her.

But after just a few feet, she backed into something solid – something she knew shouldn't have been there. She tried to look over her shoulder to see what it was, but just before she moved, someone grabbed her in a chinlock, hauling her to her feet. She started to panic, thinking she was being choked, when she was shoved against what was left of the car. She stared up at this new arrival in unabashed fear, hating Mamoru for his cowardice and for not taking her with him.

The man who had grabbed her – who now looked down at her with unchecked disdain – seemed familiar somehow. He curled his lip in a sneer and said, "You're that girl from the speech. The one who got hurt."

Usagi didn't recognize him from there, but she knew now where she'd seen him. "You ran us off the road," she whispered in a tiny voice. "You did it on purpose."

He smiled at her, patronizing. "Smart little bunny."

"Should I peel the flesh off her bones and fry it up for dinner?" the youma asked, its voice like syrup. Usagi clamped her mouth shut to keep from retching.

"No," Nephrite snapped. Usagi hoped he was offended by talk of hurting her at all, not just the cannibalism. "I have other uses for her."

Usagi cried out as he reached for her, remembering her mother's stories about dirty men on the buses and then remembering her mother. She raised her fists to try and beat him off, but he treated her blows as more irritating than painful. He reached for her, and she tried to shield her neck, but he didn't try to choke her. Instead, he simply jabbed one gloved finger between her eyebrows. And then his hand began to glow light pink.

Usagi immediately felt as if she were getting sleepy. Her muscles began to soften, and it no longer felt as though she could lift her arms. They fell uselessly to her sides as her knees began to buckle. Finally, she shut her eyes because she was simply too tired to keep them open.

It felt like an eternity before he let her go, and she slumped to the ground.

-----

Nephrite ogled the glowing ball of rose-colored energy gathered in his hand like it was a fine diamond. He was impressed by the amount of energy in the girl. It was more than he had ever gotten from a single girl he hadn't found by way of the stars. He couldn't help but smile, thinking of how impressed Beryl would be with this bounty along with the mother's – not to mention how Zoisite would seethe at the praise.

"Impressive," was all he said.

"I got plenty from the mother too," the youma purred as Nephrite vanished the energy for the time being.

Normally, Nephrite would have been on his way, but he had no interest in Zoisite gleefully informing him of yet another failure. He had already decided he would stay and deal with the Sailor Senshi directly. Therefore, he saw no reason to keep the youma around and risk the energy collected from the mother. He was about to tell it to return to the Dark Kingdom with the bounty, when he was interrupted by a groan.

He turned, surprised. The girl who he had just drained was struggling to push herself onto her elbows. "She's conscious?"

The youma sniffed delicately. "Either that, or you've turned her into one of the undead. Certainly sounds like it."

Nephrite narrowed his eyes and began to walk forward. After what had happened with the last attack, he wasn't going to take any chances.

However, he was interrupted by a someone flying in between him and the girl. The cloaked figure lashed out, propelling a snow white fist into his jaw, sending him reeling. Nephrite righted himself quickly, holding his bleeding jaw.

He stood face to face with Tuxedo Kamen, and while Nephrite held his unquenchable rage within, this man had it displayed on every inch of his face. When he spoke, it sounded more like a feral dog than a man. "Leave. Her. Alone."

Nephrite just smiled. "My pleasure."

Then he called forth his sword from the black realm he called home and charged.

-----

Tuxedo Kamen leapt away from Usagi's body, forcing Nephrite to switch directions in a hurry. He'd been hoping to gain a tactical advantage as well as keep Usagi out of harm's way, but he underestimated Nephrite's agility. In spite of his bulk, Nephrite shot forward, moving and sounding like an enraged panther. He held the sword at eye level and drove forward.

Tuxedo Kamen brought up his cane to block the blow, but in a flash, the sword had vanished. Tuxedo Kamen didn't have time to reposition himself to fend off Nephrite's punch, and he flew back. He skidded to a stop, barely managing to regain his footing in time to soar upwards, out of the reach of three white hot energy blasts. He performed a graceful flip and landed on top of the lamppost the Tsukino's car had smashed into. He gulped when he saw the state of the street – ripped to shreds.

He spared Usagi the briefest of glances to make sure she was all right. She was still attempting to right herself, but the youma was mercifully unconcerned with her. Apparently, it was more interested in the battle at hand.

Tuxedo Kamen quickly refocused his attention; Nephrite was advancing quickly. Then the shitennou leapt and twisted in the air. Tuxedo Kamen jumped off the lamppost and tucked his knees, somersaulting twice once he hit the ground. Meanwhile, Nephrite teleported out of the air and onto the ground, a blast charging in his hand. Tuxedo Kamen tried to take out his legs with a low reverse roundhouse, but Nephrite jumped over it, using his height as leverage to propel the blast for Tuxedo Kamen's face. Tuxedo Kamen rolled on his side to get away. He saw smoke billowing up from the hole in the street out of the corner of his eye.

Once again, Nephrite didn't give him time to breathe. He was on top of Tuxedo Kamen in an instant, throwing elbows instead of punches. Tuxedo Kamen did his best to block, but he didn't anticipate when Nephrite switched his trajectory, coming at him from overhead and landing a solid hit over his left eye. Tuxedo Kamen staggered and crouched down, and though he took advantage of the position to jab at Nephrite's ribs, he knew this was not going well for him. He could barely catch his breath.

While Tuxedo Kamen gasped for air, the sword made a sudden reappearance, and the cane came back to block. Tuxedo Kamen felt an intense sense of déjà vu as the two men locked themselves in a stalemate, their weapons forming a lop-sided cross.

Apparently, Nephrite agreed with him, as he took the time to turn to the youma, who was picking at her three-inch nails with a butcher knife. "I don't suppose you want to be of any use?"

The youma just shrugged. "You seem to be doing fine on your own."

Nephrite clenched his jaw, obviously perturbed. Tuxedo Kamen was expecting another comment, but instead, Nephrite spun out and then once again picked up his left leg, bending it at the knee, and then thrusting outwards, catching Tuxedo Kamen under the chin.

Tuxedo Kamen fell back, trying to correct his footwork and remain upright. But his center of gravity and that of the Earth's seemed at cross purposes; he couldn't regain his equilibrium. He sensed the growing light, and knew he was about to be in a world of hurt.

"SHABON SPRAY!"

The immediate area was instantly covered in thick fog; Tuxedo Kamen had to stop himself from falling to his knees in thanks. He heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against the pavement, and soon he was flanked by both Sailor Mars & Mercury. "I am so happy to see you," he confessed earnestly.

"How's Usagi?" Mercury asked without preamble.

"He drained her," Tuxedo Kamen spat, wiping a dribble of blood and saliva from his chin. "And he made them crash the car, but otherwise remarkably fine." He pointedly did not mention her emotional state or how she must have now felt about him.

"We'd better split up," Mars commanded, amethyst eyes darting left and right, searching for movement in the fog. "They won't—"

The devil spoken of, Nephrite came flying out of the fog, the sword in one hand and a gathering light burst in the other. The Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen immediately scattered, but when three kitchen knives sailed past him, two of them tearing his cape, he realized that the youma had joined the fight.

"You two take care of Kitchenette!" he shouted above the fray. "I'll handle Nephrite."

Pain bloomed at the base of his spine, and he crumbled, but not before sending a barrage of steel-tipped roses behind him. He could hear the malicious grin in Nephrite's voice when he answered.

"As it was meant to be."

-----

Mars snorted. "Yeah, you'll handle him all the way into your grave if I don't deal with this." She brought her hands in front of her, pressed her two index fingers together, and reached for the fire that lay within her. The spark lit, and then she called out, "Fire Soul!" sending an inferno flying through the air, evaporating the fog in an instant now that they no longer needed the cover.

She saw Usagi first, and her heart sank. She didn't particularly like the girl – anyone who took up as much of Mamoru's time couldn't be her best friend after all – but she didn't dislike her either. Mars didn't relish seeing her like this.

Then she saw Mercury and watched the pain cross her face like a river run off course. For Mars, that was much worse.

Finally, she found the youma, but only because it popped out from behind its hiding place behind the car. Mars couldn't help but snort despite the numerous blades and weapons at its disposal. The apron it wore made it far girlier than the other youma, and therefore, harder to fear.

"Sayonara!" it laughed, pitching a number of sharp kitchen utensils Mars couldn't hope to identify. She crouched down, prepared to fling herself out of the way, when Mercury sent forth another attack, this one concentrated. Not only did it knock them off course, but it froze them, and they dropped to the ground useless.

The monster growled in frustration and then reached into one of the breast pockets. It pulled out a small vile, emptied it into her hand, and flung it at the ground. A tiny explosion went off, not big enough to cause any real damage. All it really did was kick up a lot of red smoke. Mars rolled her eyes and started to charge forward, when she inhaled some of it and promptly launched into a coughing fit.

"What is that?" she demanded, wheezing as Mercury joined her in misfortune.

Mercury let out a particularly painful hack. "Chipotle pepper," she choked out.

"Brilliant," Mars growled. She gave the youma a withering look as it tittered from up above. She bared her teeth and hissed, "Enough of this. FIRE…"

The youma may have seemed empty-headed, but it knew an attack when it was coming. Its posture changed to battle ready. The demon pulled the string holding up the apron, and for a horrifying moment, Mars thought she was going to be privy to an uncomfortable amount of monstrous anatomy. However, the apron managed to stay up despite this change in attire.

Mars's relief over this evaporated the moment the apron strings lengthened, circled her three times over, and bound her arms to her sides.

She cried out in indignation, sinking to her knees rather than falling in a more embarrassing fashion. She glanced over at Mercury and found her in a similar predicament, although she was doing her best to stay on her feet.

The youma clucked its tongue. "What's the matter, ladies? Don't you like me? Come closer, why don't you!" The monster yanked them both forward, sending Mercury to the ground and dragging Mars so that her chin scraped along the asphalt.

Mars would have liked nothing more than to turn the annoying blue gnat into a finely ground pile of ash, but her position didn't allow her to shoot the flames with any guaranteed accuracy. With her luck, she'd wind up setting one of her allies, or worse, one of the Tsukinos on fire.

"Unbelievable," she grumbled. She tried to look over her shoulder to see how Tuxedo Kamen was faring, but he was more or less part of a black and grey blur of fists and kicks. She felt that this all was somehow amounting to nothing more than a pissing contest, which, considering her predicament, was not attractive in the slightest. "Need a little help over here!"

The only answer to her question was a star blast that hit the blacktop a mere three inches from her head.

"…Not actually what I had in mind."

A few moments later, twin roses cut through the hair, easily severing the ropes that bound them. Mars jumped to her feet as if she'd just won the lottery. Then she went through the familiar motions faster than the monster could recall the knives so that they could be thrown again. She felt a great deal of satisfaction when she called out, "FIRE SOUL!"

-----

From her vantage point propped up against the sedan's tire, Usagi got a full view of the monster being engulfed in Mars's vengeful flames. She gave a weak cheer as the demon gave an inhuman howl, writhing within the orange like a shadowy specter. She was also relieved to see that her mother's apron fluttered to the ground completely unscathed.

She would have liked to return the prized piece of clothing to her mother – as a matter of fact, she would have liked being with her mother at all – but she couldn't bring herself to move. Her mind longed to in desperation, but her body wasn't strong enough to obey. She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed when her mother didn't seem to stir once the youma was destroyed.

With the monster dispatched, Mercury and Mars threw themselves into the battle with Nephrite. Mercury led the assault with another concentrated blast of her water, but while it managed to pull him off Tuxedo Kamen for a little while, he soon shook off the cold and redoubled his efforts to defeat them. He sent Tuxedo Kamen reeling backwards with another hard kick to the chest, and then followed up with a large blast towards Mercury. Mars looked for a moment as if she might get close enough to do some damage – though what she was planning to do with a slip of paper was beyond Usagi – but Nephrite caught her before she could react. He drove the heel of his hand into her throat, impacting her windpipe and sending her into yet another furious coughing fit.

Tuxedo Kamen and Mercury returned to the skirmish as quick as they could manage. Tuxedo Kamen sent out another handful of roses, aiming for the eyes, but Nephrite merely teleported and reappeared just ahead of the attack. Mercury was highly unsteady on her feet, but she once again tried her Shabon Spray since it had been nearly effective the first time. Nephrite caught both of her wrists with one hand and punched her in the ribs with the other. She crumpled like a marionette with the strings cut and fought to keep her food down. Taking advantage of her weakness, Nephrite aimed another of the star blasts for her and shot. Mars leapt in front of her just in time and used her own attack to block the energy. Unfortunately, it didn't so much as stop or neutralize the attack as it did cause a mini-supernova.

Usagi shielded her eyes, digging her teeth into her lip when she heard three pained screams. When the dust settled, Usagi had to fight her tears at the sight. Mercury was clearly struggling to remain conscious. Mars had done her best to shield the other soldier from the explosion, and her back entire was an open wound. But worst of all for her was seeing Tuxedo Kamen lying on the ground, twisted and broken. He should have been standing tall and triumphant over Nephrite. But it was their enemy who towered over them all, having just barely gotten clear of the blast with that stupid teleport.

"Pathetic," he observed in a bored tone. He was trying so hard to destroy them, but he looked as if he was being forced to make small talk at a boring dinner party. With one hand on his hip, he began sauntering over to Tuxedo Kamen. "Frankly, I don't know why you gave Jadeite so much trouble. Apparently if he'd had the fortitude to stand against you on his own, we needn't have lost him."

Tuxedo Kamen tried to push himself up to his knees, but his elbows wouldn't stay locked. She heard him gag and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Nephrite just laughed. "I am going to have a great deal of fun killing you."

Usagi's world threatened to collapse from beneath her. Tuxedo Kamen, the man who had saved her countless times before and again tonight, was in trouble. She wanted nothing more than for him to get up and fight back, making Nephrite eat his words, but she knew deep down this wasn't going to happen. He was beaten. Worse, neither of his allies was in any shape to help him, and she could hardly sit around and hope Sailor V was more than just a legend while she lost Tuxedo Kamen.

She didn't know his real name, and she didn't know what color his eyes were, but she loved him all the same. She wouldn't lose him before she found these things out. She wouldn't lose him before she could ask if he could love her too.

With monumental effort, Usagi hauled herself to her feet. She circled the car as quickly as she could manage, trying not to think about the fact that Nephrite didn't have much farther to walk and he had two good legs. She practically fell into the driver's seat and was thankful for small favors when she saw the key was still in the ignition. She pulled the door shut and took the time to strap herself in although it took her three tries to get the buckle in the slot. Then she reached forward and turned the key.

The engine whined but didn't turn over.

"Come on…" Usagi hissed, forcing her eyes to focus on the dashboard. "Don't do this." She keyed it again, but it still didn't turn over.

She glanced up at the battlefield. Nephrite was dangerously close to Tuxedo Kamen, and his sword was in his hand. Apparently, he wanted this death to be personal.

Usagi wailed and punched the wheel. "Work now! I have to save him! All he's ever done is save me… I can't let him die now! Not before I know if he has blue eyes." She keyed the ignition for the third and she knew final time. As she did, she felt something like warm coils of rope winding around her wrists. She was momentarily alarmed, but then she forgot all about it.

Because against all odds, the car roared to life.

"Yes!" she shouted, tugging at her strap to make sure it was secure. She looked through the cracked windshield, located her target, and then shifted the gears. She accidentally hit the brake first, but when she found the accelerator, she floored it.

For once, Nephrite didn't know what was coming. He didn't know anything was wrong until it was too late, and then he couldn't think to do anything but stare as the headlights zoomed forward. The element of surprise had worked, and he took the hit hard. The nose of the car hit him at hip-height, and she'd managed to get enough speed so that he rolled up the windshield and over the roof of the car.

It wasn't until she heard him land behind her car that Usagi realized what she'd just done. She'd not only gotten involved in a fight, but she'd run a man down with a car. And she didn't even have a license.

She sat there, shaking for a minute, and then remembered why she'd gotten the courage to do this in the first place. She unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed the door open, and half hopped/half-tripped to where Tuxedo Kamen lay. He was kneeling now, gaping at her and the car. "Are you all right?" she asked quickly, brushing his cheek with her fingers before she could stop herself.

He just stared, looking as though he didn't even understand the question. Then he reached for her slowly. Her heart pounded, wondering what he was going to do. She licked her lips without meaning to. But all he did was comb his fingers through one of her pigtails. The action was as mystifying as his tone. "You saved me."

She couldn't help but laugh at him, although she had to admit, she sounded rather hysterical. But a moment later, he joined in, too relieved and fending off the residual adrenaline rush to do anything else.

They came to an abrupt halt when they heard the sound of metal crunching. They both turned to see Nephrite standing once again, although Usagi didn't see how. Even she could tell he had a number of broken bones, and he seemed to be more blood than skin – green blood, she noticed. He no longer made an effort to conceal his rage. He laid it all out. Every crease on his face told the story of the revenge he now longed for more than ever, and the frustration at knowing that he would never receive it.

Mars and Mercury appeared behind him, and although Mercury had to lean on her companion's shoulder, both of them were prepared to fire. Tuxedo Kamen got to his feet with the help of Usagi and his cane. He brandished the lacquered accessory like a sword. "You're done, Nephrite."

Nephrite snarled only because he knew it was true. "This isn't over."

"Not for as long as you're alive," Tuxedo Kamen said grimly.

To her surprise, Usagi didn't reply, although she supposed if they stood there trading threats all night, they'd never actually leave. A black hole appeared underneath Nephrite's feet, and he seemed to be sucked into it like dust in a vacuum. Usagi didn't relax until the shadowy portal vanished. Only then would she believe he was gone.

The three warriors released a collective sigh of relief. Mercury seemed to relax so much that Mars had to work considerably harder to keep her upright.

"Are you all right?" Usagi asked gently, starting to move forward.

Mercury jerked a little, staring at her oddly. She opened and closed her mouth several times, and then made a few incoherent noises. Usagi was starting to wonder if Nephrite had somehow damaged her vocal cords, when she heard a distant groan.

Her face broke out into a painful grin. "Mama!" she whirled and hopped on one leg to where she lay. Usagi fell to the ground when she reached her side, stopping Ikuko from getting up too quickly.

"Oh, my head," Ikuko murmured, holding it. "Did I fall…?" She opened her eyes and looked around in shock at the road. She groaned aloud when she saw the state of the sedan. "I was really hoping this was all a horrible dream."

"Sorry," Usagi said with a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

Ikuko shook her head, and Usagi knew she was trying to hold back tears. "Shaken up, tired, upset… but I'll be fine. Frankly, all I want to do is go home."

The appearance of the car at the end of the street was so serendipitous that it seemed planned. When the headlines fell upon them and the wreckage that was the street, it surged forward and screeched to a halt just a few meters from them. Kenji and Shingo burst out of the car, falling to their knees just beside them. Kenji immediately wrapped his wife in the most ardent embrace Usagi had ever seen them share.

"Thank God you're all right," he hissed, burying his face into her hair. When you didn't come back, we thought the worst… What happened?"

Ikuko glanced over at Usagi furtively, silently pleading with her daughter to explain. Usagi just smiled and said, "Well, isn't it obvious? I mean, they're standing right over—"

But when she motioned towards Tuxedo Kamen and Sailors Mars and Mercury, she discovered that they had fled. She felt her heart sink. She hadn't even gotten to thank them, much less tell Tuxedo Kamen how she felt about him.

Shingo understood intuitively what must have happened. "You mean Tuxedo Kamen and the others were here!" He turned his face to Ikuko, revelation dawning. "That means you..."

Ikuko nodded sadly, reaching out and touching his face. "But I'm fine now. All I really want is to get home and go to bed. We can talk about this in the morning, can't we?"

Kenji's jaw was clenched painfully tight, but he acquiesced eagerly enough. "Yes. We have a lot to talk about in the morning." He kissed his wife briefly, laying his forehead against hers. Usagi could tell he was steeling himself for whatever might happen next, and in that moment, she thought her father was just as good and kind as Tuxedo Kamen, despite his flaws.

"Shingo, help your sister into the car. We'll have to get you new crutches tomorrow, Usagi. I doubt yours are in any shape to be used. But if… what you say happened actually happened, then we need to get out of here. The police will be here any minute."

With Shingo's help, Usagi clambered to her feet. "But won't they know it's our car?"

Kenji gathered Ikuko in his arms despite her protests. "They will. You let me deal with that. All right?"

Usagi felt there was something strange about his tone, but decided it was best just to go along with everything. "Okay."

Then together, the family all piled into the sedan Kenji had borrowed and drove off into the night. As Kenji had predicted, precisely three minutes later, all kinds of government personnel and military men and women were at the scene, searching for clues and trying to ascertain what had happened on the road that night. They would later find the owners of the mangled car, and go to the Tsukino's home to see if any of them had been involved in an altercation with the strange monsters plaguing Tokyo, if they had experienced an encounter with Tuxedo Kamen or his known associates.

But all they would find is a nice father who was quite surprised to find that his car wasn't in the driveway.

-----

Mercury, Mars, and Tuxedo Kamen had just barely made it back to his car without being seen. Once they got there, Mercury very happily sank into the passenger's seat and allowed her transformation to slip off her skin like cool water. Mars and Tuxedo Kamen quickly followed suit.

"I don't have any serious injuries," Ami said before either one of them could pester her about her health. "I used the computer to check. I'm just… in a lot of pain."

"No kidding," Rei muttered, her voice sounding unusually hoarse. "He really laid into you."

Mamoru winced as he shifted his weight. "Hey, he got me pretty good before you guys got there."

She scoffed. "Are you actually in competition with her over who got knocked around the most?"

"…No."

"I hate to be a bother," Ami interrupted, slumping over onto the dash. "But I'm going to need some assistance getting home."

"Might as well drop me off too," Rei added, already moving into the back of the car.

Mamoru shrugged. "Sounds all right to me."

"But once you're done, you ought to go back and see Usagi."

Mamoru gaped at her as if she had just proposed that he switch sides, what with capes being more in line with what the Shitennou were wearing. "I can't."

"You should," Ami insisted. "It's obvious you want to."

Rei laughed quietly. "Ami, you're being very straightforward tonight. Did you hit your head at all?"

Ami felt her cheeks color. "I didn't mean—"

"No, I think you're right," Rei soothed. She turned to Mamoru, and her usually hard face softened into something sympathetic and almost kind. Ami thought Rei seemed like an entirely different person. She liked it. "We know you had to leave her so that she didn't figure out who you were. You should see her. Try to explain."

Mamoru seemed even more bowled over by this attitude. "Now that I wouldn't expect from you."

"Me either," Ami remarked.

Rei tossed her hair over her shoulder. "It's either that, or you're going to brood over it for the rest of your life, and I cannot even begin to tell you how tiresome that is." She paused, tapping her finger against her chin. "Besides, I don't really consider her competition."

Mamoru arched an eyebrow. "Because she's not as pretty as you are?"

Rei beamed at him. "Thank you so much for saying so! You're sweet. But no, she's cute. I just don't think she's your type." She flung open the car door and started to climb inside. Then she stopped, frowning. "But if you don't want to break cover, we've got to do something about your face."

"What's wrong with it?"

Rei let out what could only be described as a polite guffaw and then reached into the purse she had taken to bringing to battles with her. She rummaged around and then pulled out a compact mirror, flipping it open for him.

"Oh."

"I think she'll wonder how the boy who ran wound up with so many bruises," Rei teased.

"What do you propose to do about it?"

Rei replaced the compact and then pulled out what Ami was sure would amount to Mamoru's worst nightmare: make-up. "Cover it up."

True to her prediction, Mamoru turned ghostly white. "No."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Face transplant," Mamoru ventured. "Ski mask. Blowing her porch light. Anything."

Rei shook her head. "You really don't have a choice here."

He groaned, sounding a lot like an eleven-year-old boy being told he had to wear a suit. "Why do you even have this with you?"

Ami sighed and settled back in her seat now that the world had stopped spinning. "My mother and her grandfather might wonder just what we're up to if we keep showing up with mysterious bruises. There's only so many times you can walk into a door."

"And now you have to deal with it," Rei said brightly, grabbing his chin and pulling him under the street light. "Come on, it's just for a few hours. You'll practically be healed by morning."

"I hate you both," Mamoru proclaimed as Rei began to dab concealer over the worst of his bruises.

Ami shut her eyes, blocking out the sound of Mamoru and Rei's bickering. The monster was defeated, Nephrite had been sent packing, and they all were alive to fight another day. She felt she was very deserving of a good nap.

-----

After dropping Ami and Rei off at their respective homes, Mamoru drove back to Usagi's house using directions courtesy of Ami's computer. He arrived shortly after 8:30. He hoped it wasn't too late to stop by.

He paused, snorting. "Yes, because after everything that's happened, etiquette should be your primary concern right now."

Shaking his head, he inspected his face in his rear-view mirror. He had to admit, Rei had done a good job of hiding the damage. In the darkness, it was unlikely anyone would be able to tell he had been in a fight that night, and hopefully they would also be unable to tell he was wearing make-up. Having the foundation caked on his face left him feeling an unrelenting empathy for women. How they could stand to carry this around all day was beyond him.

With a sigh, Mamoru exited his car and walked through the decorative gate to the front door. He stood there for at least a full minute, trying to work up the courage to knock or ring the doorbell. He was just about to give up when it flew open, and none other than Usagi stood on the other side. She looked like a complete mess. Her buns were coming undone, her eyes were puffy and so bloodshot they seemed solid red, and her bruises were beginning to show. The violet ring around her neck in particular left him wanting to rip things apart.

He opened his mouth to speak and then realized he hadn't thought of what to say.

Thankfully, Usagi didn't seem to have that problem. "What are you doing here?" she demanded fiercely. "What could you possibly want to do to me after tonight? Haven't you hurt me enough?"

Mamoru felt sick with guilt, and he had to swallow several times before he could speak. "I just wanted to explain."

"What? That you're a heartless coward?" she hissed. "I got the message. Good night." She moved to slam the door in his face.

He should have left it there. He probably shouldn't have even come there. But something possessed him to reach out and grab the door. It creaked between their opposing strength. "Why won't you let me talk to you?"

"Because there's nothing to talk about!" she cried softly, obviously mindful of others sleeping in the house. "My mother and I were in danger, and you ran away. I wanted to run, but I didn't because I couldn't abandon my mom. I know I don't mean anything to you – I know you think I'm stupid and useless and annoying – but that doesn't give you the right to do that!"

He felt his jaw hanging open at these accusations. He did find her irritating sometimes, and sure, he didn't think she was a Rhodes scholar, but he hadn't realized his opinion meant so much. He thought she'd just ignore him, but apparently, he'd made an impact that he hadn't meant to. "I didn't… I didn't do what I did because of that."

"So you admit that you're a coward?"

Mamoru didn't see how he could get out of this preserving his identity if he didn't admit as much. "All right, I was scared. So scared that I ran, and I'm sorry about that."

"Everyone gets scared," Usagi whispered with intense feeling. "The whole city is scared. And that's why we all need to stick together, because if you know that you're afraid and you're not alone, that's when people can be brave."

Mamoru suddenly felt intensely guilty about telling her that she was an idiot.

She paused, drumming her fingers against the doorjamb. "You remember how I said my father wasn't spending as much time at the house? I thought he was scared and running away too, but he wasn't. It turns out he was trying to work overtime so that we could have enough money to leave Juuban until its safe. Everyone except him has been hurt by these attacks, and I know it terrifies him. He was trying to save us." She shut her eyes tightly, bending her head. "We won't be able to now. We didn't have full car insurance, so we're going to have to spend the money on a new car. And with everything that's happened, Dad will probably wind up cutting his hours instead of increasing them."

She looked at him with eyes like steel wet after a winter rain. "He's a brave man. Motoki is a brave man. Tuxedo Kamen is a brave man. You're just… you."

He wasn't the least bit surprised when she slammed the door again, and this time, he didn't stop her.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Well, that took entirely too long. I am so sorry! 2008 was just a really horrible year for me creatively, and I've been so busy with other projects that I hadn't gotten a chance to look at this one until mid-May. But, at least it's here now, and I'm going to attempt to update this one as regularly as possibly before my (hopeful) foray into graduate school.

I hope Usagi's unexpected badassery was satisfying for you all. xD It certainly was for me!

Not much else to say about this one! Thanks as always to my fantabulous betas, Yumeko and Dave. I do not want to think about how this story would be without you guys. And of course, to all the readers and reviewers out there: you are the wind beneath my wings. 3

Up next: Sailor V introduces herself to a certain caped crusader, Nephrite and Zoisite find themselves in competition, Mamoru finally decides to communicate, and absolutely no mousy-haired princess with glasses has anything to do with anything. I'm really excited about the next two chapters; I hope they turn out to be as good as they seem in my head!

Coming Soon - Part Eleven: The Mysterious Silver Crystal


	11. The Mysterious Silver Crystal

Hands Fall Together  
Part Eleven: The Mysterious Silver Crystal  
by Kihin Ranno  
11/25  
R

When Usagi shut the door in his face, Mamoru was overcome with the sensation that he'd lost something very important. Something he'd never be able to get back again.

He wished there was something he could do to fix everything, but he knew it was no use. He couldn't very well explain the real reason why he'd run, and there was no plausible explanation for leaving her other than the truth. He had a choice between putting her in more danger or having her hate him for a coward. He couldn't indulge a selfish impulse to make himself feel better.

As he was walking back to his car, he noticed a flash of white from just outside the top of his vision. Instinctively, he looked up, tensing and shifting his weight to throw himself at whatever new threat could be out there despite the fact that he felt on the verge of collapse. Then he saw the same pale blur land on the hood of his car, and he relaxed considerably.

Well, he didn't so much as relax as scream in frustration, but at least he could be relieved that it wasn't a youma.

"Cats!" Mamoru growled.

The white feline momentarily cocked his head at Mamoru, perhaps marveling at the insanity of human beings and how they could stand walking on only two feet all day. Then, he seemed to forget about Mamoru entirely and began to settle himself in for a nap on Mamoru's car.

"Oh, no. Absolutely not," Mamoru snapped, striding forward and snatching the cat off the car. The tom yowled at first, then hissed, curling around itself and flattening its ears to its head. "I have had enough of temperamental felines for one lifetime, thank you very--"

Mamoru stopped. He had turned the cat around to look at it, a habit from dealing with Luna all of this time. And he had been very surprised to find a very similar attribute on this tom's forehead.

"A crescent moon?" Mamoru marveled. Without another thought, he dropped the cat, backing away from it a bit. The tom fell to the ground, pausing only to flick his tail at Mamoru in indignation. It turned and ran across the street, darting up a tree with a full canopy of leaves that could easily hide a full grown man. If that cat was at all similar to Luna, then he knew the cat hadn't been hiding up there for kicks. And he certainly hadn't appeared when he had at random. It was sending a message.

Without another word or moment's hesitation, Mamoru flung open his car door and climbed inside. He turned his key in the ignition until the engine turned over, and then drove out of sight... but only just around the corner.

He pulled his car out of sight on the darkened street. The subdivision was still under development, so it didn't take him long to find a stretch of houses that were still under construction, and thus, unoccupied. He parked there and closed his eyes.

Moments later, Tuxedo Kamen stepped out of the car and ran off into the night, cutting through several backyards and taking a very roundabout way to get back to Usagi's street. He couldn't risk being seen by anyone, of course, but mostly, he didn't want to be seen by her.

Tuxedo Kamen desperately hoped that this would not turn into yet another battle. Ami was in absolutely no condition to fight, and he did not want to deal with Rei's tantrum at being dragged out two times in one night. The fact that there was another cat like Luna made him hopeful that this was an ally, but just in case, he decided to be cautious and try to get a drop on whoever was probably still in that tree.

Finally, Tuxedo Kamen crept up on the tree in question. He remained as quiet as he could, but he found there was little he could do to prevent his shoes from squeaking or leaves from crackling underneath his feet. All he could really hope was that he had the good sense not to step on a twig.

So of course that's exactly what happened.

"God damn it."

A blur of color muted by the night shot out from the tree. He could tell instantly that the silhouette was female, but beyond that, he was at a loss. It wasn't as if he had time to inspect subtle aspects of her form as he chased after her, trying to keep up with her.

This proved to be more difficult than he would have otherwise anticipated.

She was fast. As a matter of fact, impossibly fast. And she seemed to be well acquainted with his tricks, though he now realized that he probably hadn't originated the idea of taking to the rooftops when speedy passage and avoiding the public were necessary. And she seemed to be a bit more used to it, not even pausing in her sprint before jumping up to the Tsukino's roof. He stayed hot on her heels, ignoring his pain.

She led him out of the residential area and into the heart of Juuban's shopping district. It was there that he got his first good look at her, sailing in front of a billboard. Long, gold hair was drawn behind her like a comet's tail. She was all rose and royal blue, glowing oddly in the unnatural light. And from his distance, he could see a symbol glittering on her forehead when she looked over her should to see if he was still following her.

"Sailor V," he breathed, momentarily stopping. Then he ran faster, knowing it was more important than ever to catch up with her. Not only did this mean that she actually existed, but it meant that she was alive. And it meant that she had some connection to them. It hadn't been some artist that placed that moon on her forehead. She was involved in this somehow.

"Wait!" he called out, panting. "Stop!"

She didn't seem to have heard him. In fact, as the words left his mouth, she bent her knees and leapt upwards, clearing the distance between two buildings in a magnificent show of grace and strength. It awed him, but it didn't stop his irritation. "Damn it, you're the one who went to so much trouble to get my attention. Are you just showing off now?"

He was beginning to suspect this was indeed the case as he chased her over still more buildings. She cartwheeled off one edge and then performed a fantastic triple flip before landing on the other. It was a wonderful show, if entirely impractical.

But he didn't know how much longer he'd be able to keep up this chase. After all, she was fresh, and he felt like he could collapse at any moment. He took in another deep breath and decided to try one last time. "Please stop!"

As absurd as it seemed, she stopped then, landing in a crouch, her arms stretched out behind her to give her the proper balance. But he could tell by the way she adjusted her weight that she wasn't planning on running again.

She straightened, her curtain of blonde hair blowing out behind her. She moved with a smoothness that was surely practiced, used for this occasion for its effect and able to be readily discarded if the situation didn't call for it. She looked over her shoulder through her large red mask, but he could tell she was amused even at this distance. Still, there was something about her that wasn't altogether what he expected. Something different and other. She seemed more than he thought she would have been. It gave him pause.

After a moment without him moving, she winked at him. "All you had to do was say the magic word."

He had no idea how to respond to that.

"It really is you," he remarked, even though he'd guessed it sooner. "So you're not--"

"Dead?" Sailor V finished for him, still amused. She shook her head. "Nah. Not many clothes in the afterlife. You've basically got a choice between togas and being naked, and while I could deal with nudity, I couldn't deal without cute shoes."

He blinked. Very slowly. "Er."

She barreled on, patently ignoring his discomfort. "The public at large, assuming they believe in me at all, thinks I'm dead and so does our enemy. But that's what they get for not checking for a body, right?" She flashed him a grin with a wicked curl in her lip.

Finally, she'd arrived on common ground. "Our enemy?"

Sailor V's grin widened. "Yes. Ours. What, did you think there'd be a Sailor Senshi wandering about with a different objective?" She paused. "Then again, I suppose anything's possible, but boy, that would be inconvenient."

Tuxedo Kamen found himself clearing his throat to give him time to collect himself. He'd never known that talking to someone could make you dizzy. "If you're my ally, why did you run?"

She shrugged casually. "Meeting in residential areas is never a good idea. It's too easy to get caught." She leaned forward and whispered, her voice dropping from soprano to alto. "Besides, I had to see how badly you wanted me."

He coughed. Very loudly.

"Wanted to talk to me that is," she corrected innocently, the pitch in her voice ascending.

"Right," he drawled. In that moment, he decided that he was going to keep Sailor V and Rei well away from each other for as long as he could possibly manage.

"So," she continued, placing one hand on her hip. "I'm sure you have some questions. Fire away."

Since she seemed to prefer to be blunt and to the point, he didn't waste his breath. "Why aren't you fighting with us then?"

Sailor V nodded a bit, regarding this as an acceptable question. He couldn't decide whether or not he wanted her approval. "Because I didn't have help when I fought, and you can't either. And I'm not saying this out of bitterness, but you have to know how to do it on your own."

Tuxedo Kamen thought about this, mulling over the logic. "You don't want us to rely on you."

"Exactly. I want to help you," she said sincerely, pressing her right palm into her chest. "I do. But I know it isn't what's best for all of you in the long run."

"I see what you mean," he admitted wearily. "I'd prefer it the other way around as well."

She smiled reassuringly, sympathetically. "It's not so bad. You're doing all right."

"You don't get the papers then?"

"Well, nobody's perfect," she teased. "I come pretty close though."

Tuxedo Kamen hated to think it, but he was almost glad Sailor V was keeping her distance for the time being. Her constant switching from serious conversation to this… whatever it was gave him a headache.

"Is that all you wanted to know?"

"No," he admitted. "What do you know about the... our enemy?"

She quirked an eyebrow at his hasty correction. "Not much more than you do. But I can tell you that this energy stealing business isn't their primary objective."

He swore fluently, gratified that she wasn't offended but a bit worried that she chose to be… gleeful. "We'd suspected as much. They're not really doing it well enough for it to be."

"They're doing better than you think," Sailor V informed him a bit gravely. "While you've been dealing with the flashier battles, I've been taking out stray youma picking up energy on the sly. And I can't be sure how much headway I'm making."

"Oh, brilliant," Tuxedo Kamen moaned. Why had he thought she'd be full to the brim of good news? "Are they using it as some sort of fuel for another goal?"

"I know that much, but I'm not exactly sure of what that goal is. Fountain of eternal knowledge, I am not. Which is a shame because then I could bend algebra to my will." She sighed wistfully before going on. "All I know for sure is that they're searching for the Ginzuishou, and that's only from a deathbed confession. Well, death-roof." She paused, rolling her eyes. "I'm not completely clear on what that is, mind you."

Tuxedo Kamen stumbled backwards even though he was standing still. He felt a wave of excitement wash over him as the significance of that word washed over him. He'd heard it before. He'd been hearing it a lot lately.

Sailor V noted the reaction and stepped forward, her eyes widening. "You know what it is, don't you?"

Tuxedo Kamen hadn't been inclined to even tell Luna or the girls about his dreams. But somehow, in this moment, he knew that he had to her. More importantly, he wanted to tell her. He didn't think too hard about what that meant.

"I don't," he confessed. "But I've heard about it, too. In dreams... I've had them since I was a kid. They stopped for awhile, but they started up again a couple months ago."

She seemed ready to burst from excitement. He imagined she'd go up in fireworks consisting of primary colors and that they'd burn forever. "What are the dreams like? What do you see?"

"Not much of anything," he admitted. "It's always hazy. All I know is that there's a girl... a princess. I guess the princess we're searching for. She used to just ask me for help, but lately she's been asking for something called the Ginzuishou."

"The Silver Crystal," Sailor V whispered hungrily, though if she longed for knowledge or the thing itself, he didn't know. "But what could that mean? Is it just some piece of jewelry someone's particularly fond of, a weapon, what? Why do they want it so badly?"

"Power," Tuxedo Kamen responded easily.

"Obviously. But why is it so important to them? What's it for?"

He shrugged helplessly, feeling a bit uneasy under her hard gaze. At first glance, she didn't look like she was anything to worry about. She was short, thin, and looked oddly translucent in the combination of moonlight and street lights. Still, when she had him pinned like that with her eyes, he couldn't help but squirm. There was a reason for why she was so legendary and why she had fought alone for the better part of a year.

"Are you sure it's the Moon Princess asking you for this?" she asked. Her voice had a strange lilt.

"It seems unlikely that there would be two princesses mixed up in this. If I told the others this, they'd wonder what any princess was doing talking to me at all."

Sailor V blinked, intrigued. "You haven't told the others this?"

"No," he responded quickly, harshly. "I haven't."

"Interesting," she remarked, smiling again. "Why would they wonder what a princess was doing speaking with you?"

Tuxedo Kamen laughed a bit, but there was hardly any joy in it. "They think I was some common knight or low-level magician of some kind. They can't remember any males of status who played a role in the fall of the Silver Millennium on their side. It's the best Luna's been able to come up with."

Sailor V stared at him, positively gaping. He was just about to ask what was wrong when she burst out laughing. He blanched at the volume and musicality of it. Occasionally, she had to suck in air with a horrible-sounding gasp, but for the most part, her laughter nearly resembled a song. It left him wondering if she could sing and how well, though he had his suspicions.

She even wiped away a tear with her fingertips as it came out from underneath her mask. "Oh, that is too funny. They don't... You don't... That explains so much. It explains everything! Well, not everything, but it explains enough."

Tuxedo Kamen didn't need to be particularly quick on the uptake to understand the implication. "You know who I was?" He had to admit that he sounded more than a bit desperate. If she knew who he'd been a thousand years ago, he couldn't help but hope that she also had a clue to who Chiba Mamoru had been before the car went off the cliff.

Sailor V could barely manage to stop laughing in order to answer him. "Oh, yes, Tuxedo Kamen. I know very well who you were. I will tell you this much, but the rest you'll have to figure out on your own.

"You were very important. In fact, you were and still are one of the most important characters in the story. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary when it came to you associating with princesses. Particularly that one." She halted, considering something. Then she made a gesture as if to say, 'Well, why not.' He got the distinct impression that she was throwing a considerable amount of caution to the wind.

"And unlike the rest of us, you were not part of the Moon Kingdom."

Tuxedo Kamen balked at the last, his eyes widening. "What? What do you mean I wasn't--"

Sailor V shook her finger at him, her other hand resting on her hip. "No, no, no. You don't get to have everything handed to you. That's too easy! You seem clever enough. You should be able to figure it out."

He felt so vexed that his teeth ached, but he knew better than to challenge her. It seemed she had the upper hand in just about everything. "But if I wasn't part of the Moon Kingdom, what was I a part of? And how do you know so much? What makes you different?"

Sailor V regarded him coolly, lifting her head a bit and pushing some of her hair out of her face. The reflection off her goggles receded, and he could see her eyes clearly for the first time, light blue like crystal or the summer sky. They glittered at him, taunting and tantalizing. And then she spoke, her lips emphasizing every nuance of every word she spoke. "Because I was important too."

Suddenly, it hit him, but not at all like a ton of bricks. It felt as if an entire building had somehow picked itself up and rammed into him, completely flattening him. He stared at her, all forced grace and coy attitude and her ability to be playful and play him. The possibility was there, staring him in the face.

"Princess," he breathed, stepping forward. "Are you the--"

She hushed him, reaching up with her gloved hand and laying two fingers on his mouth. "One day, Tuxedo Kamen, you are going to find out exactly who I am. And you're going to know who Princess Serenity is and if she's your princess and whether or not we're all one in the same."

Then she stood up on tiptoe, whispering in his ear, her lips purposefully brushing up against his skin. "But not yet."

He shivered. And then whispered back just before she pulled away. "Oh, you're very good."

She bounced away, giving him a little shrug. "I do what I can. And hey, could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Try and keep up next time." With that, she leapt up again. She didn't even bother running this time. She just jumped from building to building, a girl-shaped blur on the horizon.

He stared after her for awhile, long after he could no longer see her. And despite everything he'd been through that day – despite his failure with Reika, Motoki's stress, the near-defeat with Nephrite, and Usagi's hatred – he decided that the day wasn't a total wash.

"Sailor V flirted with me," he muttered, smirking. "Awesome."

-----

A mouthful of blood splattered onto the stone floor, making the black shimmer. It barely missed the toes of Kunzite's boot.

Nephrite frowned in irritation and wiped his mouth, taking care not to stain his sleeves. "I don't need your help."

Kunzite returned his unwavering scowl. "If you didn't, then I suspect you wouldn't have returned looking as though you'd been run over by a truck."

Nephrite snarled and raised his hand, but Kunzite snatched his wrist easily, twisting it around. He pushed forward sharply, shoving Nephrite into the nearby wall. The cold pressure against Nephrite's bruises sang out with pain, but he gritted his teeth. Showing weakness to Kunzite was not an option.

Unfortunately, pretending at strength was an even less promising option. "You forget yourself, Nephrite," Kunzite murmured in a disturbingly pleasant tone. "On a good day, you would be lucky to give me a papercut."

Nephrite yanked his arm away, but he knew it was only because Kunzite had let him. He rubbed the new sore spots gingerly, anxious to see Beryl so that she could heal him. He wasn't fond of relying on her either, but it was a necessary evil. "What does it matter to you anyway?"

Kunzite sighed as if he were speaking to a temperamental child. "If you do not succeed in gathering the energy to awaken Metallia, then training the war youma will have been a waste."

"If you'll remember," Nephrite spat, "I retrieved more energy on the last run than I would have with all the other attempts combined."

"But you lost this time," Kunzite warned sharply. "And you lost because of a _human_."

"I don't see you getting this upset because of your little fuck toy," Nephrite snarled.

Kunzite narrowed his eyes. They glinted silver, twin razors in the dark. "Zoisite has nothing to do with this discussion. Your missions are separate. And while he has yielded no results as of yet, he has yet to humiliate himself."

Nephrite decided that he was going to relish the day when that little bitch Zoisite finally turned on his lover and cut his throat. He only wished Jadeite were still around to toast their good fortune. "It was a fluke."

"There seems to be an epidemic of flukes going on around you," Kunzite said, his voice stinking of shadows.

Nephrite continued to glare at Kunzite for quite some time before releasing a shaky breath. This stand-off was going nowhere. It was wasting up valuable time when he could be seeing Beryl and then tracking down his next target.

"What do you want then?"

Kunzite never relaxed, but he backed away from the killing edge by a fraction. "There is nothing to be done about this past failure. But what of last time?"

"I'd never seen anything like it," Nephrite admitted reluctantly. "The girl didn't behave as previous victims did. And the youma was just… wrong." Then he proceeded to tell the rest of the story, supplying nuances Zoisite's scouts couldn't hope to supply him with.

Kunzite furrowed his brow deeply, mulling over the tale like a dog given a tough piece of meat. "I can't say that I've heard of or experienced anything similar."

Nephrite snorted and bit his tongue to keep from remarking that he didn't see how Kunzite could have encountered anything like that. After all, he hadn't been a field operative since the London fiasco.

"You're sure you didn't do anything different with the spell?"

"I'm not an idiot."

Kunzite did not look convinced.

"Everything was exactly the same as before," Nephrite insisted. "My only explanation is that there was something wrong with the girl."

"Did you notice anything?"

Nephrite found himself staring at the mouse-like youma, still drinking his fill of the vileness beside his feet. He had noticed something about Reika just before the demon had appeared. Her shadow wasn't like the other humans in the area; it was deeper, blacker. In his mind's eye, he imagined the shadow was like a pit to dive in to, where he would jump and fall forever in an endless void.

"I'm not sure she was human."

Kunzite gave him the same look Nephrite saw him use with youma trainees right before he beat them with whips of fire and venom. "That would have been something to investigate prior to targeting her."

"The stars point the direction. I merely follow it."

It was painfully obvious to Nephrite that in Kunzite's mind, that was precisely the issue. "Should you run into this problem again, would you know the signs?"

"I'd know it by the shadow."

"Very well," Kunzite announced. "I'll look in to the matter in the meantime. Just because it can be avoided does not mean that it ought to happen again."

Nephrite decided he would have to take this as a kind of blessing. If Kunzite was investigating his past, then he ought to stay out of his present dealings. Maybe he'd even get incredibly lucky and this would draw Zoisite off his tail as well.

"Beryl's summoning me."

Then Nephrite vanished without a word, anxious to get back to work and away from the man who dared to call himself his leader.

-----

"You can come out now," Kunzite called.

Zoisite dropped from the ceiling like a bat, his blond hair hanging down in waves of curl and a cloud of frizz. "You knew I was there?"

Kunzite leaned close to his lover's pointed face. "You can never hide from me."

Zoisite shivered, but his irritation at being caught remained evident in his features. "One day, I'll trick you. It might take me a few centuries, but I know it'll happen one day."

If that were true, when that day came, Kunzite was sure Zoisite would be there to kill him. But if it would ever come to pass, it was a long way off. Kunzite saw no need to dwell on it.

"It would do you well not to eavesdrop on him," Kunzite warned. "He didn't sense you this time, but he was reeling from the situation at hand. If he had been focused, he would have known you were there. We both know what could have happened then."

Zoisite glared with unguarded malevolence. Kunzite could never decide whether or not he found his lover's petty rages enticing or not. "Do you think I'm that weak?"

"I think you underestimate him, and I think that's dangerous."

"And he doesn't underestimate me?"

"No," Kunzite informed him plainly, running his fingers along Zoisite's knife-sharp jawline. "He knows how dangerous you are, Zoisite. It's why I know he wouldn't hesitate."

Zoisite shook with rage, and Kunzite watched with vague amusement as he swallowed the curses and insults he so obviously wanted to throw. Kunzite allowed him a longer leash than the others, but it still only went so far.

"And another thing," Kunzite said as he turned to leave. "He did have one point."

"What's that?"

The edge in Kunzite's voice was sharp enough to cut bone. "If you don't make any more progress in your search for the Ginzuishou very soon, you'll have more than just Queen Beryl to answer to."

Without another word, Kunzite left, leaving Zoisite thwarted. The blond snarled and flipped to alight on the ground, his fists clenched and his teeth bared. He stalked forward, crushing the gluttonous youma beneath his feet.

"Not even you know how dangerous I really am, lover."

-----

Rei frowned, folding her arms. Ami had called her an hour or so before wanting to talk, and rather than meeting at the shrine, they had met in the park halfway between their homes. After wandering around listening to Ami dance around what was clearly going to be an awkward subject for no less than twenty minutes with an overwhelming amount of technobabble, Rei had demanded to know what was going on. Now that she had heard the whole story, it was little wonder Ami felt embarrassed.

"So let me get this straight…. You've had this crystal since Reika was attacked, and you're just telling me about it _now_?"

Abashed, Ami shifted her weight and collected herself. "Well… I've been studying it since then, and with everything going on, it took me longer than I originally anticipated. If it was just some sort of bauble, I didn't want to waste anyone's time."

Rei didn't bother to hide her incredulous tone. "You mean to tell me you thought Nephrite was just carrying this around because he thought it was pretty?"

"We don't know if it's Nephrite's."

"Maybe not, but it'd be my first guess." Rei leaned forward, gazing into the crystal's azure depths. "Although, I'm not sensing anything… distinctly dark about it."

Ami nodded. "The computer didn't pick up on anything either. There's definitely some sort of magical signature, but there's something strange about it. To begin with, the crystal itself does not appear to be either good, evil, or a mixture. It's neutral. Almost as if—"

"It hasn't decided," Rei supplied.

"Precisely!" Ami shouted. A moment later, she covered her mouth with her free hand, blushing.

Rei smirked. "I think I'm beginning to understand why you didn't say anything before. You just didn't want to share."

Ami fluffed her hair but didn't respond. "But there's something else odd about it that I can't put my finger on. It's like… it's just a feeling I've got, but goodness knows compared to you, I have the psychic ability of a block of cheese—"

Rei snorted loudly.

"Well, it's true. Anyway, in spite of the crystal itself not being potently evil, it's like… there's a shadow of something unpleasant. I've run countless tests, and they've either come back inconclusive or yielding results that make absolutely no sense. I think I've taken it as far as my scientific capabilities allow. So I thought maybe you could have a look at it."

"And spiritual picks up where science fails," Rei murmured proudly. "Makes sense. What do Luna and Mamoru have to say about it?"

Ami shrugged and gazed out over the lake where a few couples were rowing boats. "They didn't really say too much about it. Luna's running around attempting to locate more Sailor Senshi, and Mamoru's been spending a lot of time with Motoki."

Rei's eyes darkened. She didn't have to ask why Ami had put off going to Rei. Even now, things were still awkward between them, even if it only manifested in how they carefully avoided touching each other when passing the stone between them. Rei knew there was absolutely no one to blame for that but herself, and she tactfully avoided bringing it up.

"How is Reika?" she asked instead.

"I'm not sure exactly. My mother isn't on the case, and she's not close with the doctor who is. She's been released already, but everyone's more or less mystified by what happened to her."

They exchanged a glance, and the meaning of it was clear enough. Reika's doctors were not the only ones lost when it came to Reika.

"At least she's home," Rei remarked with what she knew was unusual diplomacy. She reached forward and plucked the gem from Ami's hand, holding it up to the sunlight. There was definitely something strange about the crystal – some kind of unidentified power. She sensed something malleable about it, something that made her grateful that Ami had picked it up rather than their enemies, but when she attempted to reach for that power, she could not find it. An adaptable but inaccessible power was both worrisome and frustrating.

"I think I'd better consult the sacred fire." She hunched her shoulders, sniffing in irritation. "Not that I can do that until I can go back the shrine."

"Why did you want to meet somewhere else anyway?"

Rei slipped the crystal into her purse for safe keeping. "Grandpa's been interviewing people to take a job at the shrine to help out with the cleaning and stuff. Since my… availability has significantly decreased as of late, he thought it might be a good idea. He had me sit in on a few and then got upset when I gave him my opinion on the candidates."

Ami folded her hands in front of her dress demurely. "Did you by any chance give said opinion when the interviewees were still in the room?"

"Well of course! They ought to know exactly what their shortcomings are. And then they proved me right by reacting like they did. One of them just burst out crying, and the next said I was obviously possessed by an angry fox spirit."

Ami shook her head. "I think you judge people too harshly, Rei."

Rei narrowed her eyes, but gave the matter some consideration. After a moment, she conceded, "Maybe I do, but I think everyone disappoints you in the end. If I can find something wrong with a person straight off, it's better just to keep them out of your life right at the start. That way you don't get hurt."

Ami's blue eyes widened, staring for one beat and then dropping to the ground in something like shame or embarrassment. It took Rei a moment to realize what she'd said and what it was sure to mean to Ami, whose memory of Rei's disappointment was still so fresh and raw.

"Then again," Rei murmured, moving closer so that her shoulder brushed against her companion's, "I'm not right all the time. Sometimes people surprise me."

She didn't dare look at Ami directly, but she watched as the girl blushed out of the corner of her eyes. Rei exhaled, feeling the knot of tension in her chest relaxing, if not completely unraveling.

Her moment of peace, sadly, did not last. The tension returned like an angry tidal wave as the sound of men shouting reached their ears. Ami and Rei exchanged a quick glance and then sprinted towards the noise, Rei trying to run and dig through her bag for the communicator at the same time.

It didn't take them very long to reach the scene. Rei's jaw unhinged when she saw the construction site, which was rapidly being abandoned by the workers. She saw fifty muscular, usually self-assured men and women fleeing as if their lives depended on it.

From butterflies.

"Oh my," Ami murmured.

Finally, Rei laid hands on her communicator. "I'll get him."

-----

Mamoru made it to the park in record time. Ami released a visible sigh of relief when she saw him. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to think we might have to start without you."

Rei raised an eyebrow at his appearance. "Don't you look… you know, I have so many options, I just can't decide. What would you say, Luna?"

"Well, his hair rather resembles a small dog that's been struck by lightning."

"Not a cat?"

Luna licked her paw and smoothed it over her face. "As if we would ever look so disheveled."

Mamoru held up his hands in mock surrender. "All right, you got your shot in. You said something weird's going on?"

Ami motioned them forward, leading them until they reached what had once been a construction site. It was now overrun with squirrels and what looked like particularly temperamental butterflies.

Mamoru whistled. "Jesus. What happened here?"

Rei and Ami looked at each other in a way that reeked of conspiracy. He wondered if he was the only one keeping secrets. "Ami asked me to meet her here so that we could talk about something that we'll just have to discuss when this is all taken care of," Rei began. "We heard the shouts and saw the construction guys being chased out of here by the wildlife."

"They were attacked by… squirrels?" Mamoru asked.

Luna swatted at his ear. Her tail puffed up to twice its normal size. "Do not mock the squirrels! They are devious little rodents, and they are not to be underestimated."

He craned his neck in an attempt to lean away from Luna, who was obviously losing her mind. "Okay…"

"Anyway," Rei interrupted loudly, "that's not the best part. About five minutes after I called you, I felt an upswing in dark energy. And considering this place was already crawling with negative vibes, it wasn't easy." She beamed, clearly awaiting praise.

Ami had no such need. "She means that she found out who Nephrite's target is."

Rei squawked, "Hey! I was going to tell them!"

"And," Ami pressed on, ignoring Rei's mini-tantrum, "it doesn't seem as though he's been under Nephrite's influence for very long. Rei thinks she might be able to help him."

Mamoru couldn't believe their luck. They had been hoping they might be able to discover this with enough time to do something to prevent it. Mamoru had more or less given up on the possibility, but it seemed that somebody up there liked them after all. "Who?"

Just then, an old man wearing grass-stained khaki's rounded the corner. He was over-tanned from spending many hours outdoors in spite of his brimmed hat. It was also hard to miss the slightly manic look in his eye or the sweat pouring off him on a warm, but breezy day.

"Nevermind."

Rei frowned. "You wouldn't have known that if you didn't know he was here."

"Of course not," Luna soothed, leaping from Mamoru's shoulder to Rei's. "That was very good, Rei."

Rei grinned at the praise, even if it obviously hadn't come from the person she really wanted.

"I know him. He's the caretaker for the park and really very sweet," Ami explained. "He told me a few days ago that the park's been bought by developers. They're going to expand the business district and pave right over it. Aside from the havoc it's bound to wreak on the eco-system, it's really a shame. It's gorgeous here."

"That explains the animals attacking the construction site," Rei observed. "Nature's fighting back."

Mamoru nodded. "I can see on the guy being upset about losing his job, and if he cares about the area, that's more reason to get up in arms. That'll spike anyone's energy." He tipped his head over to where the gardener leaned against a tree, stroking it in a way that was lovingly disturbing. "Think you can break it?"

"It's worth a try," Rei remarked hopefully. "I don't think he's had this guy for very long. I usually feel overwhelmed by the energy when it's close. Now it's more like an itch I can't scratch."

Ami frowned. "But how are we supposed to make him stand still long enough for you to undo the damage?"

Mamoru, Rei, and Luna looked at one another meaningfully and then with one perfectly timed movement, turned their gazes to Ami.

-----

Ami waited with composed impatience as Rei, Luna, and Mamoru concealed themselves in the immediate area. She plucked at the neckline of her dress, but took a deep breath and steeled herself for the confrontation. After all, there was nothing to be afraid of. The others were nearby, and besides, she was a Senshi herself. If he tried anything, she could definitely take care of herself.

But if Nephrite appeared, she was the one out in the open, wasn't she?

Pushing the thought out of her mind, Ami approached the caretaker. He hunched over a patch of multi-colored tulips possessively, as if his mere presence would be enough to save them from being destroyed. Judging by the way the construction crew had run off, Ami found herself believing he had the power.

"Excuse me? Mr. Kunitachi?"

He jerked around, and Ami's heart sank. After seeing so many of Nephrite's victims, she recognized the depraved look in an instant. To think that even someone as despicable as Nephrite had decided to go after such a nice, defenseless old man.

"Unforgivable," Ami whispered.

The caretaker straightened as if roused to suspicion.

Suddenly, it occurred to Ami that Nephrite might have a way of communicating with his victims or with the youma being fostered by his magic. She quickly scrambled to cover her mistake.

"What they're doing to this park, I mean," Ami burst out. "I think it's unforgivable."

The look in his eyes became that much more manic. He reached forward suddenly and grabbed her shoulders, smearing dirt across her skin.

"I'm so glad someone else understands the crime being committed against nature."

Ami wanted to glance back at the others for reassurance, but she couldn't risk it. After all, they had no idea how long Mr. Kunitachi had been underneath Nephrite's influence. She couldn't even begin to guess what might set him off. A grown man scaling a tree might just do it.

Ami nodded as earnestly as she could manage. "Yes. I heard about what the owner selling the land to developers. It's just terrible."

Ami had been worried about keeping the caretaker talking, but like many of her concerns, it turned out to be pointless for the most part. Mr. Kunitachi was more than happy to carry on the conversation all by himself, leaving Ami to simply agree with him when he paused to take a breath. He told her all about what he thought about the decision, and his unwillingness to see nature sullied by the hand of man. He implied – well, more than implied – that he had taken to chasing visitors away from the park. It was only her seeming like-mindedness that had spared her from this fate.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar symbol blazed bright green against Mr. Kunitachi's hat. It flared like an exploding star, and then the green light exploded across the path. Ami cried out and shielded her eyes, throwing herself backward should a monster appear. But when the light faded and Ami was able to look again, she saw only smoke rise from the brim of the hat. It formed the shape of what might have been the youma, shrieked faintly, and vanished.

Ami stared for a moment and then broke out into a fierce grin. They'd done it. They'd actually done it!

She heard a groan and saw the caretaker begin to sway. She moved forward to catch him, but Mamoru appeared at his side before she could.

"Are you all right, sir?" he asked brusquely, beginning to lead him off the path.

"I… don't know," Mr. Kunitachi murmured helplessly. "I felt very dizzy all of a sudden."

"You must be dehydrated in this heat. Let's get you inside."

"Thank you."

As the pair walked off, Mamoru looked over his shoulder and smiled at Ami, holding up his thumb exuberantly.

Ami wanted to follow them, but then she felt something small and furry lean against her leg. She thought it might have been a squirrel still under Nephrite's influence, but was relieved to see Luna.

"We did it, Luna!" Ami shouted now that the caretaker was out of earshot. "It was taking so long that I wasn't sure if it would work, but then it did! Rei broke the spell, and the youma didn't appear! We beat Nephrite!"

"Ami, celebrations will have to wait. Rei needs your help."

For the first time, Ami realized that Rei hadn't come out of her hiding place. She quickly dashed over to the bush Rei had chosen, and gasped when she saw the psychic priestess curled up on the ground, clutching her head. She knelt beside Rei. "What happened? Do you need a doctor?"

Rei clenched her teeth in pain. "I'll be fine. It was just… harder than I thought."

"You should have said something…."

"And what?" Rei snapped. "Give up on the mission? I don't think so." She choked back a cry. "I said I'd do it to try and spare that guy. It didn't matter what happened to me."

Ami's eyes softened, and she gently laid her hand on Rei's forehead. She was burning up, but Ami knew better than to be concerned. She'd learned awhile ago that Rei's body temperature was higher than most, particularly after using her powers. "You know, I find it very interesting that someone who rejected this mission at first has become so determined to see it succeed in so short a time."

Rei blushed. "I don't know what you mean. As long as I'm doing something, I'm going to do it right."

Ami laughed quietly, but quickly returned to matters at hand. "Do you need to stay here for awhile?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Luna said, appearing at their side. "I'm sorry, Rei, but I'm certain Nephrite will have felt the unraveling of his magic. If he comes here and sees you like this—"

Rei nodded quickly. "I know. It's all right. I can manage." She started to get to her feet, but Ami could immediately tell she was going to have a hard time of it.

"Let me help you," Ami insisted. She swung Rei's arm over her shoulders and struggled to get the other girl to her feet. It was a testament to how awful Rei felt that she didn't offer more than a token protest.

They slowly started to head in the direction Mamoru had gone when Rei let out a wistful sigh. "It's too bad Mamoru had to go help the caretaker," she mused. Then she winked at Ami. "I wouldn't have minded being carried."

Ami gaped at her audacity for a moment and then giggled quietly. "I can't say that I'm surprised."

Rei leaned closer. "Ami… do _you_ want Mamoru to carry you?"

Ami was very happy there weren't any reflective surfaces nearby. She didn't want to know what color her face had turned. "Wh-what?"

Rei chuckled and then winced. She laid her head against Ami's shoulder. "Sorry. I guess I'm not up for teasing you right now."

Ami didn't bother to conceal her sigh of relief.

"Hey, Ami?"

"Hm?"

Even with her eyes closed, Rei's smile was radiant. "We did it."

-----

Nephrite was taking a rare moment of rest and relaxation for himself when he felt it happen. With the glass of whiskey poised at his lips and the symphony of hushed whispers common to the Dark Kingdom slithering in the air, his careful spell unraveled. Then the potential of the energy and the youma that it would have created vanished as if sucked into a black hole.

He crushed the glass in his hand.

All that work. All that effort. All the promise that this target had held, gone in a second. And he knew who he had to thank for it.

"Sailor Senshi," he snarled. "Tuxedo Kamen."

It was tempting to track the caretaker to his location and see if they were hanging around waiting to ambush him, but he doubted it. After the beating they had taken last time, it was unlikely they would engage him again so soon.

Kunzite would have told him to go, to exhaust all possibilities rather than assume things. But Nephrite had no intention of wasting his time.

Besides, if he'd been thwarted at this venture, there was no reason to panic. All he had to do was look to the stars to find the next target. Beryl would never have to know that he'd been defeated like this. No one would.

He rose to his feet in an instant and projected his consciousness skyward. Normally, this was a slow, meditative process, but he had no time to waste. He had to begin his next mission immediately to avoid arousing suspicion. He looked beyond the rigid ceilings of the Dark Kingdom and cast his spirit to the heavens. His soul disconnected with his body and reached into the stars.

He saw them all in his mind's eye, stars long dead and stars not yet born. He saw their patterns and their mysteries, their rising and falling, their destruction and implosion, their collisions and their metamorphoses. He saw all of these, and he waited for them to show them his next victim.

But they were silent.

Nephrite opened his eyes, disbelieving. He tried again, meticulously performing the same ritual. Still, they told him nothing.

Nephrite's knees gave way, and he collapsed to the floor. It was inconceivable. The stars deceived; they misled; they were purposefully esoteric. But never had they refused to speak to him. There had never been anyone else like him, never anyone else who could hear their whispers and understand their whims. They liked to toy with him, but he knew how to play their game. Why now this irrepressible silence?

The stars knew everything. But for some reason, they were refusing to tell their secrets.

Nephrite bellowed violently and slammed his fist into the ground. The chair behind him burst into flame, but it did not touch him. It burned out in seconds, leaving nothing but a neat pile of ash and scorch marks on the floor.

Is this how Jadeite had felt before his end? Perhaps. Certainly Jadeite had acted with furious desperation in his final hours, and his rash behavior had hastened his death. As the second-ranked of the Shitennou, Jadeite should not have been bested by children, should not have been lured by a mere youma, and should not have been brought low by their bitch queen, Beryl. He should have prevailed in the end and survived despite all his failures. His time had been too short, and now it seemed that history was about to repeat itself.

Nephrite reached up and gripped the epaulettes Jadeite had refused.

He wouldn't be cast aside. Nephrite wouldn't let desperation drive him to madness. Nephrite wouldn't allow this one setback to dictate his destiny. He was going to do what Jadeite had failed to do. He was going to live.

He vanished and then reappeared at one of Zoisite's favorite spots. Beauty of any kind was uncommon in the Dark Kingdom, but Zoisite had always had a soft spot for flowers. He had cultivated a garden in the depths of the D-point, feeding the plants with dark energy rather than water and sunlight. As a result, they had twisted and warped into something unlike their counterparts that flourished above the ground. Still, even Nephrite had to admit, they had a beauty all their own.

Nephrite stayed hidden in an alcove for hours. He did not dare to move or speak for fear of betrayting his presence, and when a youma got too close, he dealt with it in vicious silence. Finally, in hour three, he got his reward.

Zoisite wandered into the garden and took a seat on the makeshift bench. He bent to pluck an amethyst flower, but just before he uprooted it, one of his scout youma appeared before him. It bowed, and Nephrite had to grit his teeth to keep from killing it for showing that worm such respect.

"Master Zoisite," the youma purred, smoothing a paw over its feline ear.

Zoisite leaned back, crossing his legs delicately. "You said you had something for me?"

"I have a lead on the Ginzuishou."

Nephrite listened to the youma's full report and committed it to memory. When the explanation was given in full, he almost smiled.

He might be unable to complete his mission, but that didn't mean he couldn't complete Zoisite's instead.

-----

Mamoru was something of a natural brooder, and his environment reflected that. He didn't have much in the way of lighting, and the curtains for his apartment were almost constantly drawn. Even the furniture had a somber overtone that seemed to dampen the entire room with an ever-present darkness.

But after this morning's triumph, none of that seemed to matter. The room was filled with laughter as it had never experienced before. Ami had thrown open the curtains and Rei had put on the stereo, swapping out his mellow jazz for a pop radio station. And Luna, who usually comported herself with such dignity, ran about the room like a kitten, dancing between people's feet.

It wasn't as if they'd never won before. But this was the first time that they'd won without having to fight. It was the first time they'd managed to thwart Nephrite or any of their enemies. In Mamoru's opinion, it was more satisfying than 20-year-old scotch.

With that thought, he remembered that the two girls in his living room were fourteen. He set down the sake he had reached for automatically, and then pushed it to the back of the refrigerator on the off-chance that Rei got any ideas. He pulled out soda instead, and then turned to see Rei rummaging through his pantry as if she belonged there.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered, just a bit too loudly.

She shot him a withering look. "For your information, after _saving the day_, I'm starving. I came in here to see if you had anything to eat, and I have discovered that there is nothing but sugar in here. Now I just want to see if there's any variety."

He frowned. She was exaggerating, but not by much. He had a feeling he was going to have to put up with a lecture about this sooner or later.

"What?" Ami called out, making her way into the kitchen and peering over Rei's shoulder.

Sooner then.

Ami let out a scandalized gasp. One would have thought she'd found pornography instead of cookies. "Mamoru, this is awful! It's all processed with refined sugars, and…. Have you ever read a label?"

He was tempted to say something snide, but he didn't like using sarcasm with Ami. In addition to being less satisfying, there was always a flash of hurt in her eyes, as if she had to take a moment to remind herself that it was all in good fun. "There's rice," he said lamely.

"This is just… I cannot… Let me see your fridge!"

Mamoru backed out of the way, sufficiently cowed. Ami on the warpath was just as frightening as Rei, if in an entirely different way. He winced when he heard her let out another gasp of outrage.

"There is nothing in here but soda, beer, and sake," Ami hissed.

"I thought I had a yogurt in there…. Oh, no. That went bad."

"Exactly how many varieties of chocolate cookies do you need anyway?" Rei asked, munching on an Oreo.

"I like chocolate."

"I had gathered that, yes."

"This is disgusting," Ami informed him soundly. Then she opened the freezer. "Three bottles of vodka? Really? Are three bottles of vodka so necessary?"

"They're different proofs," he muttered, realizing that she'd only seen part of his liquor collection and that if she saw anymore, she was liable to label him an alcoholic. "And there is meat in there!"

Ami pulled out a green and white box. "It is meat. In a box. Filled with preservatives. That you heat up in a microwave."

"Ami—"

"How are you not ill?" Ami asked. "You must be suffering from a vitamin deficiency."

Mamoru reached over to the counter and rattled a bottle in her direction. "I take one of these every day."

She sniffed. "That's hardly adequate. My God, your fiber intake alone—"

"And that's my cue to go," Rei said, retreating to the living room.

Suddenly, Luna appeared, winded and clutching a toy mousie between her teeth. She spat it out and asked, "What's all this yelling about?"

"Mamoru is attempting to overdose on Chips Ahoy," Rei explained blithely. "Ami's not pleased."

"Ah," Luna said. "Ami, much as I agree with you on his diet, such as it is, may I suggest that you leave it for the time being? We have just triumphed over the enemy in a big way. Not only have we saved that man from quite a nasty experience, but we've shown Nephrite that we're far more formidable than he gave us credit for. Let's not spoil it with petty arguments."

The three humans in the room stared at her in disbelief.

"What?" she asked, her ear twitching.

"You just passed up an opportunity to lecture me," Mamoru said. "Or have it vicariously done through Ami. I just… I don't even know if the world makes sense anymore."

Luna scoffed and then snatched up the mousie by the tail and threw it into the air. She went bounding back into the living room to continue her chase.

Ami, Rei, and Mamoru burst out laughing at the display, and for the time being at least, Mamoru's fiber intake was forgotten.

For the next hour, he and the girls made considerable headway through his chocolate collection, consuming pocky, cookies, and candy alike. Each of them loosened up in a way they never had before, laughing and joking as if they had been friends for years and not haphazard allies. And Luna purred without shame, butting her head up against willing hands and cuddling up to each of them in turn.

It was a perfect day.

After awhile, Mamoru got up, snatching that day's newspaper from his kitchen table. Then he started to make his way to his in-unit laundry room, such as it was.

"Where are you going?" Rei called out, her watchful eye ever aware of his movements.

He tried not to be bitter about that and answered, "Just changing the newspaper lining around Luna's things. I meant to do it yesterday and would rather not forget."

As he walked off, he heard the three women muttering about his obvious neat-freakedness, a conversation he purposefully ignored. He pushed open the door next to the bathroom. The laundry room was little more than a closet, but there was just enough room for food bowls and a litter box. That Mamoru had to tend to such things was something he and Luna took great care not to discuss.

He pulled out the damp sheet of paper from underneath her food and water dish. He selected a page at random from the newspaper and began to lay it flat.

And then he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

MYSTERIOUS CRYSTAL COMES TO JAPAN  
Gemstone of unknown origin to debut in the Tokyo National Museum

He skimmed the article, noting that the crystal was large enough to rival the Hope Diamond, and that it was similar in color and structure. However, no one as of yet had managed to identify the rock it was made from – it was something entirely new. It had been uncovered in an expedition in the Indian deserts along with a great many other artifacts from a civilization that seemed impossibly old in a region that until recently, was assumed to have gone uninhabited throughout human history.

A mysterious crystal of unknown origin made of an unknown substance. A crystal that was white like a diamond, but could be called silver just as easily.

"Shit."

Sighing the sigh of a man who had done the wrong thing and knew it, Mamoru turned back and slowly trudged back into the living room. Not surprisingly, Rei was the first to notice his return, and the first to notice his dour expression. She quieted the others and in her usual way, demanded to know what was the matter with him.

And then he told them the whole long, damnedable story.

Well. Maybe not the whole story.

-----

One could say that anger was practically Rei's default emotion. Though she knew intellectually she must have been angrier than this or at least as angry as this, she could not believe it just at that moment.

She took comfort only in the knowledge that she wasn't the only one.

"I cannot _believe_ you kept this from us," Luna spat. Her earlier suggestion to leave off lecturing vanished like so much dust. "You know we're looking for a princess, and when one waltzes into your dreams and—"

"I told you. I had those dreams when I was a kid," Mamoru maintained. "I thought you might have just… stirred something up. What, am I supposed to tell you every dream I have, because I guarantee that there are plenty that you don't want to hear about."

Understanding instantly, Rei and Ami both blushed. And Rei blushed a little harder when she found herself wondering if she was involved in any of those dreams, as if now was the time to be thinking about that.

"That's crap," Rei snapped, reverting back to more familiar territory: yelling. "I can maybe believe that for awhile, you weren't sure, but at some point it had to become clear that it was more than coincidence. You didn't keep it from us because you didn't want to bother us. You were keeping it from us because you were being selfish."

Mamoru gave her a look that seemed to suggest that he was sorely tempted to make a remark about the pot calling the kettle black.

"Look, maybe it doesn't matter," Ami interrupted. Rei could tell she was upset too, but more hurt than angry. "It's not as if we could have done anything about it, and he came forward as soon as it was relevant."

"But what if there was something we could have done?" Rei asked pointedly. "What if there was a lead only you or I would have known about, and because Mr. Possessive over here doesn't know when to share, we lost it? And what if I'm not just speaking in hypotheticals? What if it's already happened?"

"You don't know that," Mamoru grumbled.

"Well, neither do you!"

Ami moved as if she wanted to cover her ears. "Please, can we not fight?"

"Mamoru probably should have thought of that before he went around _lying_ to us."

"I didn't lie!"

"A lie of omission is still a lie," Luna said. "I should have known. You're always waking up in the middle of the night. I should have known that something was wrong and called you on it." She paused, grimacing. "Or would you have just lied to my face?"

Mamoru blanched. "No!" he shouted, though his eyes showed some uncertainty.

Rei scoffed. "Idiot."

"Stop acting so entitled," Mamoru hissed contemptuously.

Rei leapt to her feet and shouted, "I am entitled, damn it! We're on the same side."

Mamoru stepped closer. She felt certain he was trying to intimidate her with his height, and she nearly laughed in his face. "But that isn't why you feel entitled, is it?"

Rei bristled with rage. How dare he? How dare he bring _that_ up here, in front of the others? How dare he use it as a weapon against her? How dare he throw in her face how easy it had been to tell her no?

She drew her hand back to slap him across the face, and she didn't care if she'd regret it one day.

Ami's cold hands encircled her wrist, pulling her arm back down. "Please, stop."

Rei could have just as easily kicked Mamoru, and it was only for Ami's sake that she didn't.

"I… I don't approve of what Mamoru did either," Ami began, and Rei could tell that she was putting her feelings mildly. "But I'm not sure it matters. We can't change what happened. All we can do is go forward. And if there's even the slightest possibility that this crystal is the one we're looking for, then we need to check it out. Luna, when's the exhibit?"

"A week from tomorrow," the cat answered.

"Fine." Ami's grip on Rei's arm started to relax. "We'll have to wait until then. It will be under heavier guard before the debut than after, so we'll go the night after the exhibition opens. I'll start working on a plan. All right?"

It didn't fix anything. It didn't even come close. But it was going to have to do.

Rei gently extricated herself from Ami's grasp. "All right," she agreed with obvious reluctance. "But Mamoru, you better pay attention to this. You've told us that you've dreamt of the princess, and I can't even begin to speculate as to what that means. You've told us she's asked you to find a crystal. Fine. If it is the Moon Princess and not some ridiculous figment of your twisted imagination, then I will look for it. But if there is anything about this little narrative that you've left out that even has the slightest chance of being relevant to what we're doing here, you had better tell us now, or I swear, you will live to regret it. For about two minutes."

This was not an idle threat coming from her. Mamoru may have had a distinct advantage over a fourteen-year-old girl, but he did not have an advantage over a decidedly pissed off fourteen-year-old girl who could control fire at a whim.

She watched the thin line of his mouth grow thinner. She watched his Adam's apple bob against his throat as he swallowed. She watched his blue of eyes darken as if to herald an oncoming squall.

"There's nothing else."

And even though he had not hesitated too long or looked away from her, she knew that he was lying. Just like she knew that he'd never admit it if she roasted him on a spit for a thousand years.

She slammed the door especially hard on her way out.

-----

"Mysterious crystal, eh?" Minako asked, her head hanging off the edge of her bed. Like all previous attempts, reading in this position was not a stellar success. "Bit convenient."

"These things usually are," Artemis admitted.

Minako nodded, conceding that much. "I suppose we'll have to check it out." She gave him a Cheshire Cat grin. "I wonder if maybe I should invite a friend."

Artemis groaned. "I still wish you hadn't done that."

"Oh, why not?" Minako asked, pulling herself upright. "At the time, I didn't know he knew anything about the Ginzuishou, and goodness knows we need all the help we can get on that front. Maybe I wouldn't have if I'd realized he'd known, but now we know so much more about him and what they know and don't know."

Artemis looked as if he was having trouble following her. She couldn't imagine why. "If he tells the others about you—"

"He won't."

"See, you keep saying that," Artemis ground out, "but I don't understand how you can be so sure."

Minako ruffled his hair, ignoring the sour look he gave her. "You weren't there. You didn't see how… territorial he looked when he was talking about the princess. Oh, he admitted it to me easily enough, but I think that's only because he'd already decided I was her. And since I didn't exactly deny it, I don't think he could be bribed into talking about me with wild horses."

"That's not really how that—"

"Whatever."

Artemis shook his head, sending a quick look heavenward, asking the gods why he was saddled with such a burden. She decided not to pinch him. Not yet anyway.

"Look, I don't think it's likely to be what we're looking for either," Artemis admitted. "But it's not as if we can leave it to chance, can we?"

Minako frowned. "No, I guess we can't. But you know, the others might have seen this. Worse still, the Dark Kingdom might have seen this."

Artemis looked at her with unmasked sympathy. "You think Kunzite—"

"No," Minako interrupted too sharply. "He wouldn't be doing that. The crystal's important, but… we know he was splitting his time between London and training the invasion forces, and look how that turned out? They lost me, they abandoned the city, and they got nothing to show for it. No, they'll have focused his efforts on making sure their army's in working order."

Artemis stared at her. "It is frightening that you work that out so quickly."

"Oh, like you hadn't?"

"Yes, but I'm the centuries-old moon cat. It's to be expected."

Minako opened her mouth to deliver another snide remark when the door suddenly flew open. Minako's mother, Aino Kaida, entered the room. She had a load of clean laundry – unfolded as it was supposed to be one of Minako's chores to do so – resting on her hip. She deposited the laundry and said, "Dinner's nearly ready."

"Okay," Minako said, laying a hand on Artemis's smooth back. "I'll be down in a minute."

Kaida nodded, deeming this acceptable. Minako hated when she did that. Kaida then swept her eyes around the cluttered room with her usual disapproval, lingering on the white cat for a second longer than necessary. She turned sharply and shut the door behind her; the audible click that followed somehow managed to be just as disparaging.

Artemis and Minako let out twin sighs of relief.

"She really doesn't like me," Artemis noted unnecessarily.

"Of course not," Minako grumbled, bending to kiss the top of Artemis's head. "You're mine."

-----

The stars may have felt as cold and silent to him now as a million shining corpses, but Nephrite could still draw on their power. Every spell he cast was in some way connected to the heavens above. So it was with everyone in their own way for the stars governed who were meant to wield power, but his connection was deeper, more sacred. He had received their blessings.

Though perhaps not anymore.

Nephrite cast that thought from his mind like an unwelcome guest. He dare not doubt anything – not his abilities nor his decision to interfere in Zoisite's work. Nephrite knew tangling with the man carried a certain amount of danger. Zoisite was weaker than him, but more treacherous and far more likely to stab from behind. Nephrite was hardly a diehard proponent of fair combat. None of them were. But each of them had their limits in what they would or would not do when it came to fighting dirty. Zoisite had yet to find his.

When Nephrite found the Ginzuishou, Zoisite would be furious. Actually, that didn't begin to cover it. Zoisite already hated him, but when it became known that Nephrite had bested him at his own game, Nephrite would be lucky to escape.

But this was more than enough thought given to Zoisite. He had to empty his mind of these and other concerns if he wanted this to work. Distraction was not an option.

Nephrite closed his eyes and listened. Though he expected the chilling quiet, he still loathed it. With that out of the way, he began to feed off their ancient power. He held his hands out, channeling all of that energy through his body. It spilled out of his palms in ever-shifting hues.

It was more power than he was used to. It was far easier to destroy than to create. A star blast he could send off with scarcely a modicum of concentration. But this was the birth of a tool, the birth of a power. This was creating something out of nothing but magic and intent.

This was about survival.

After what seemed like an eternity, the process was completed. A prism was now suspended between his palms, black as jet and glowing with his power. He caught it with one hand, ignoring the sweat dampening his glove.

This would be the key to everything. This stone would lead him to the Ginzuishou. Nephrite smiled, remembering that this would never have occurred to Zoisite. Zoisite always took the easy way out, sending out his youma scouts to do the dirty work while he fawned over Kunzite and spat at Nephrite's retreating footsteps. It never would have occurred to Zoisite to do anything but wait for the silver crystal to fall into his lap. Nor would it have occurred to him that someone else would do so.

"Get ready for a little competition, you rat-faced bastard."

-----

It took Rei a full day to calm down enough to trust herself to pray before the sacred fire. She'd wanted to do it immediately, but any time she attempted to focus her mind, she went back to being angry with Mamoru again.

The worst of it was that she understood to a degree the impulse to keep things secret. She certainly had plenty of those, didn't she? The secret that her father didn't love her. The secret that her mother had died because she'd insisted on having a daughter. The secret that Hino Rei was not her only name. Part of her could understand why he had done it, and she hated that. She hated shades of grey. She far preferred absolutes.

Fire was an absolute. Fire didn't dither around about morality and personal entitlement and whatever else. Fire just burned.

The least he could have done was tell Luna. He lived with the cat, so it's not as if he was wanting for opportunity. Then she could have carried on the search by herself if Mamoru didn't care to tell anyone else. After all, that's what Ami had done when she'd held off on telling Rei about the blue crystal: told Luna and Mamoru.

"A lot of crystals floating around," Rei muttered darkly, holding the gem in her hand. She peered into it once more, staring into the faceted blue depths. If she forgot herself for a moment and allowed herself be poetic, she could imagine that she'd caught a bit of the ocean in her hand and made it solid. It was a nice thought, even if it wasn't her element.

Rei shook her head. No need to get tripped up in useless metaphors. She needed to figure out what this crystal was, what its intentions were. She liked her idea that the crystal hadn't decided to be good or evil yet. It gave it a feeling of autonomy, which seemed fitting. Strange that the notion didn't cause her more discomfort.

What did set her ill at ease was Ami's feeling that it had brushed with something… unpleasant. Ami was not nearly as sensitive as Rei was, and the fact that either she or her computer had picked up on that darkness was saying something. Rei didn't quite see how; she was able to find subtle traces when she probed for it, but it was hardly something that would be obvious to the technical mind.

Nevertheless, Ami was right, as she always seemed to be. And Rei needed to at least attempt to unravel the secrets of this mysterious… blue crystal.

Rei moved toward the fire. She knelt and began to clear her mind. Once she felt more centered, she began to chant her mantra, but rather than use the hand motions, she kept the blue jewel resting in her open palms. To her surprise, it did not take very long at all for the visions to come upon her, and when they did, they had a cerulean cast, as if she were viewing them through the crystal.

She saw something that was neither shadow nor man nor monster. It glared at her with blue eyes and an open mouth that wanted to swallow her up. And she saw six others behind it, though she could not see their eyes. Only their teeth.

She saw a golden crescent resting atop a pearlescent staff held aloft. She could not see who held it, but she knew it was a woman.

She saw a white pillar crumbling. She saw fountains weeping. She saw storm clouds being ripped apart by black lightning.

She saw someone holding a star in their hands.

And then she opened her eyes.

Rei stared at the jewel, a bit dazed. Then she looked down at the crystal now clenched in her hands. Her knuckles were pale from her grip, but she did not relax. She felt certain that there was nothing on this earth strong enough to crush the stone.

"I don't know what you are," she muttered. "But I don't like it."

-----

A week later, to Mamoru's eternal dismay, his situation had not improved.

Mamoru had tried on several occasions to talk to Rei about what had happened. He was not inclined to deal with her absent Ami to act as a buffer, but he was less inclined for their differences to meddle with their effectiveness in battle. Unfortunately, when Rei hadn't been giving him the silent treatment, she'd resorted to dressing him down so soundly that he'd made a comment about the nuns rubbing off on her.

Predictably, this had not improved the situation.

Luna was equally displeased, and that was worse. Luna had long since faded from being angry with him to being disappointed with him. Motoki had often told him that this was his parents' favorite strategy when it came to disciplining their children. He'd never understood its efficacy until now.

As a result of their chilly demeanors the trip from the Minato ward to the Taito ward had been nothing short of unbearable. The train ride had been long and horrendously cramped. With Rei's elbow digging into his back and Luna's frosty silence from her cat carrier combined, Mamoru had been nearly tempted to throw himself off the train.

Ami was the only one tolerating him, and she had done her best to make the trip pleasant. They had discussed science and the medical field until their throats were dry, and although he welcomed the distraction, he wished they could have found a better topic. In the confusion of the last week, he'd nearly forgotten he was contemplating leaving school.

Still, beggars couldn't be choosers. Mamoru knew that she was too kind not to be supportive. He held no illusions that she agreed with his decision – hell, he didn't even agree with his decision. Maybe she didn't even understand it. But she was willing to understand him, and to forgive him for this mistake, even if the other two women in his life seemed less inclined.

Now the four of them (with Luna safely stowed in Ami's picnic basket) stood on the slate grey pavement that led up to the Tokyo National Museum. In different circumstances, Mamoru would have been looking forward to a quiet day of exploration. He was neither a history nor an art buff, but he had enough of an appreciation to find it an enriching experience. Besides, museums were quiet, something his life sorely lacked as of late.

The trio gazed out over the reflecting pond before the building, making a show of studying the building's architecture when in reality, they were casing the building. Mamoru felt more like a burglar preparing for a heist than he cared to admit, but in a way, he supposed his profession was similar. It required a certain tactical advantage, knowing the lay of the land and all the exits. Granted, most robbers did not have to worry about monsters or blood-crazed generals, but everyone had their problems.

"Everyone know the plan?" Luna called out, her voice muffled by the basket-weave.

"We only went over it ten times already," Rei muttered, and though it was an exaggeration, it wasn't that far off the mark.

Ever dutiful, Ami recited the plan. "Rei will try to read the gem's psychic signature, if there is any. Mamoru will watch her back should it become overwhelming. I'll bring you close to the object to see if you can pick up anything. Should we need confirmation on the identity of the crystal, I'll use the computer."

"How exactly are you supposed to do that? Isn't the Mercury symbol on the front a little conspicuous?" Mamoru asked.

Ami smiled at him cheerfully enough, but he had a feeling there was a patronizing twinkle lurking in her eyes. Shifting the basket to one arm, she reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out her computer. She flipped it open and pressed a few keys. In the blink of an eye, the computer had changed from bright blue to black, with a tiny Motorola symbol in the corner.

"Palm-pilot camouflage," Ami chirped, slipping it away once more.

"How did you figure that thing out so quickly anyway?" Rei asked.

"I practiced, of course."

"Of course," Mamoru and Rei echoed in tandem. She glared, turning up her nose. Mamoru resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but only just.

"It's like I'm baby-sitting three-year-olds," Luna growled, apparently having seen the display through the opening slot.

"Says the only one of us without thumbs," Mamoru muttered.

Rei snickered before she could stop herself.

"We'd best get a move on before the lunch rush," Luna ground out.

"Hold on," Rei called out, suddenly rummaging through her purse. "I almost forgot about this." She glanced around and then just barely pulled the blue crystal into view. "We should probably see if there's any sort of reaction between the two crystals."

Ami frowned. "Is that really a good idea? There are a lot of people around."

Rei shrugged. "If anyone's got a better idea, I'd like to hear it."

Since that was an obvious negative, Ami flipped open the lid of her basket. Rei deposited the crystal next to Luna, who clutched it between her paws. "I'll let you know if anything happens," Luna assured them. "Now let's move."

The trio nodded in a swift, almost practiced movement and then stepped forward, preparing to enter the building.

To Mamoru's dismay, their promptness hadn't done much to beat the crowd. The museum was already packed; it was a Saturday, so Mamoru supposed it hadn't been prudent to get his hopes up too much. Judging by their twin sighs, Ami and Rei were coming to similar conclusions. The crowd seemed to be composed mostly of young families coming to give their children a bit of culture. There were a few sullen faces in the crowd, but Mamoru noticed that by and large all of the little girls were beaming. He supposed seeing a gigantic crystal ranked fairly high in their esteem.

He also noticed a few couples in the crowd. He overheard one girl, who looked a little younger than him, whispering to her boyfriend that perhaps the crystal had been an engagement present of some sort. The boy turned a pasty shade of grey and did his best to give her a smile.

Mamoru pointedly did not look at Rei.

These groups, he expected, but he also noticed a few single people dressed in business suits skulking around the outskirts of the crowd. He was confused, until Ami leaned close and whispered, "They're jewelers. Some of them are carrying briefcases with the store emblems monogrammed into the leather. I suppose they're harboring something of a… professional curiosity?"

"Guess so," Mamoru murmured. "I wish there weren't so many people…. It'll make it harder to watch out for Nephrite or anyone else out of the ordinary."

"Yeah, cause it isn't like you brought a psychic with you or anything," Rei quipped. "Oh, wait!"

"Could you please stop bickering long enough to get to the exhibition room?" Luna hissed.

The three of them continued to move forward, navigating the clogged hallways and slowly making their way toward the special room reserved for traveling exhibits and special items.

It took awhile, and Mamoru kept losing track of Ami, but they finally made it to the room. Rei said she didn't need to get too close to get a reading on the crystal, but Luna needed to be close in order to get a look at it. Ami began to weave through the thick crowd, apologizing for bumping into onlookers with every breath.

Meanwhile, Mamoru craned his neck around a man who had placed his toddler on his shoulders and took a good, long look at the crystal in question. To Mamoru's untrained eye, he didn't think it looked all that special. Granted, it was quite large – easily bigger than his fist – but he'd seen plenty of fake crystals just like it in novelty stores. Still, he'd never seen a stone that glittered in quite the same way. It seemed as if the gem had swallowed a rainbow, and the colored lights were trying without much success to escape. Every inch he turned his head displayed a new mess of color – turquoise and lavender and orange brighter than neon. He supposed it could have been mistaken for a diamond if not for that multi-colored luminescence.

Rei's fingernails sank into the flesh on his arm.

He glanced down and saw that she had paled. He placed a hand against the middle of her back, afraid that she might pitch over. "What is it? Is it the crystal? Is it what we're looking for?"

"I don't know," Rei admitted. "There's definitely something to it. There's magic inside it, and it's very old. I can feel it, but I can't tell what it's for…. But that's not the problem. Your three o'clock."

Although Mamoru had a feeling he knew what was there, he obeyed her anyway. Standing a head above the crowd was a man with auburn curls and blue eyes so light they looked like ice. There was a permanent crease between his eyebrows. He obviously glared a lot.

"God damn it," Mamoru swore, wishing he wasn't hanging around with fourteen-year-olds so that he could use something stronger.

"You're the one who said he might show up."

"I occasionally toy with being optimistic," he said. "Then things like this happen, and I wonder what got into me." He paused. "Shouldn't you be passed out by now?"

Rei took a deep breath, and her grip on his arm momentarily lessened. "I've been getting better at shielding myself from dark influences. However, my head does feel like there's a crazed marching band trying to claw its way out, so the sooner we take care of this, the better."

Mamoru nodded. "We should take Ami and get out."

"But what if it is the crystal?" Rei pointed out. "Should we just leave him here to take it?"

"What do you suggest? We attack him outright? There's too many people."

"We get everyone out," Rei suggested.

Mamoru nearly asked how, but bit his tongue just in time. "And what makes you think he won't attack? I doubt he'll care much about collateral damage to the museum."

Rei frowned, her violet eyes flicking towards the crystal once more. "I don't think he will. There's something… volatile about the crystal. Something tells me that releasing any magical energy in this room without knowing exactly what you're doing could backfire real easy. Nephrite won't care about anyone else, but he definitely cares about his own skin."

Mamoru couldn't argue with that. "All right. See if you can try to get to Ami and Luna."

"And where are you going?"

"To create a diversion."

Mamoru jogged out of the room, thankful that he and Rei had stayed towards the back. He quickly scanned the other rooms, looking for another that seemed to be full of people. He found what he was looking for in an area filled with artifacts from the Meiji area. He sauntered in, trying to look as casual as possible. Then he edged his way along the walls of the room, keeping an eye on the other occupants of the room. And when he was absolutely certain that no one was looking at him, he created the diversion.

He jerked his arm backwards, smashing his elbow through a glass display case.

An instant later, alarms rang throughout the building. Small children screamed and their parents sighed in dismay. Shocked voices began to carry over the high alarms, each of them asking the same questions over and over again. Then museum guards appeared with grim faces glaring at even the most innocuous of faces, urging all of the patrons to please move towards the exits as quickly as possible, where their bags and person would be searched.

Mamoru worried for a moment about them finding Luna, and then saw a tiny black blur streak between the legs of some unsuspecting tourists. He smiled, hoping that no one else saw the feline bolting to freedom.

It took an hour for Mamoru to get out of the building, and he was unsurprised to find Ami, Rei, and Luna waiting for him near a grove of trees. He strolled over to meet them, anxious to find out what had happened to Nephrite, but even more anxious not to attract attention. The guards hadn't detained him, but he swore they'd been giving him suspicious looks.

"What happened to Nephrite?"

"He swore rather spectacularly and then teleported away. Nobody else noticed," Rei said.

"Thank goodness for small favors I suppose."

"How did you get everyone out anyway?" Luna asked.

Mamoru shrugged. "I broke a display case."

"YOU WHAT?"

Ami advanced on him with the fury of a god, and though she had never even come close to scaring him before, she terrified him now. There was a manic look in her eyes that was completely incongruous with her usual demeanor. "What was it? What was in the case?"

"Er… I don't know. I didn't look," Mamoru confessed, trying to back away surreptitiously.

"You. Didn't. Look?" Ami reached forward and grabbed the lapels of his jacket, giving him a good shake. Mamoru saw Rei and Luna gaping at her from behind. "There are irreplaceable national treasures in that museum. There are documents that if exposed to anything other than regulated amount of oxygen will crumble to dust. Priceless artifacts, Mamoru. And you didn't bother to _look_?"

Mamoru decided that Ami would make one hell of a curator one day if the doctoring didn't work out. "You're welcome for getting Nephrite out?"

Ami let out a strangled scream and released him with unconcealed disgust. It took Mamoru approximately three seconds to realize that he had just lost the only ally he had left on this damn trip.

"Well, what do we do now?" Mamoru barked, lacking the incentive to keep him polite. "Luna, anything?"

The cat shook her head. "The blue crystal didn't react at all, but that might not mean anything. I didn't recognize it; it's possible I'd need to touch it to be sure. Ami didn't get a chance to examine it, and Rei said her probe was just as inconclusive."

"There's something there," Rei agreed, narrowing her gaze. "Something dangerous. I feel like Nephrite would have just taken it guns blazing if it was innocuous."

"Well, we had to assume it was dangerous," Mamoru sighed. "I doubt Nephrite wants the crystal to make jewelry out of it."

Mamoru's brain was momentarily assaulted by the mental image of Nephrite wearing a diamond tiara. He couldn't decide it if was hilarious or cringe worthy.

"He'll be back," Ami volunteered. "Probably tonight."

"I'm certain we can count on that," Luna sighed. "And that means we have to stop him. It's a good thing we planned to stay overnight anyway."

Rei grumbled, "So now we have to break into a museum." She paused. "Actually, that's kind of cool."

"Only if Mamoru doesn't ruin any more history," Ami snapped.

Mamoru sighed. This day had already felt plenty long. Now it was getting a hell of a lot longer.

-----

After fleeing the museum, Nephrite reappeared outside of the building, clenching his teeth. He had assumed that usurping Zoisite of a victory would be a simple affair. It seemed he had grossly underestimated the trouble this would cause.

To begin with, he had not been able to locate the crystal prior to its unveiling at the museum. He had designed his own black crystal to do exactly that, but it had been something of a disastrous failure. Now that he had seen the crystal, he knew why. Regardless of whether or not the stone was the Ginzuishou, it was definitely magical in origin. It reeked of cloaking magic meant to disguise its location from psychic inquiry. It would have taken power stronger than his to have found it. Hell, it took a damn strong psychic to discern that it was magical at all. Someone with latent abilities would have just assumed that it was a pretty rock and nothing more.

And now he'd somehow been thwarted at this turn as well. He'd just been ready to use the black crystal to test the displayed gem when the alarms had sounded. He could have put up a fight and stuck around whether the humans liked it or not, but without knowing what the crystal was or what it did, he didn't want to risk it. Zoisite would have done and probably gotten himself killed.

Speaking of Zoisite, Nephrite believed he had discovered why he had been so rudely turned out of the museum far earlier than he would have cared for.

He felt time and space opening up some twenty feet away. He spun around to see a woman in a forest green business suit and dark brown hair piled on her head. More specifically, he saw her appear out of nothing. He sniffed the air, detecting the stink of youma with a faint hint of cherry blossoms. Definitely one of Zoisite's.

Snarling, Nephrite vanished and then reappeared in the youma's path. The dead grey eyes widened in shock, and she tried to back-pedal. Nephrite, however, was too quick. He lashed out and gripped her arm, holding it with almost enough strength to break her bones.

"Nephrite?" the monster asked, trying and failing to keep her voice steady. "What… what are you—"

"Don't act like you didn't know I was there," Nephrite murmured, his voice deceptively calm – like still waters before the shark attacked. "I know you set off the alarms."

She shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nephrite squeezed her arm, snapping the bone in two. He covered her mouth with his other hand before she could scream.

"I was willing to let you be, you know," Nephrite whispered. "If you stayed out of my way. I assumed any of Zoisite's youma would at least be smart enough to pretend like they hadn't seen me, and to tell Zoisite that it was all a wild goose chase. Since all of you know I am far more dangerous than your master.

"But then, I don't mind this much either."

With a flick of his wrist, he snapped the youma's neck. The corpse, with its head now facing the wrong direction, crumpled the ground and broke into dust.

He would have to come back that evening, when the museum was empty and the investigation of what had happened was concluded. Then he would see if that crystal was the one he sought.

With any luck, Zoisite would be humiliated and rotting by sunrise.

-----

The majority of the afternoon had been spent planning and scrapping and replanning, with breaks to eat and argue. Ami had mellowed towards him after a few hours, realizing that they were not likely to get anything done unless she resumed her role as peacemaker. Mamoru had also been doing his best not to antagonize Rei.

"You know, Tuxedo Kamen, Mercury and I really don't need you on this one. I mean, what are you going to do? Poke it with a rose?"

Unfortunately, she'd become something of an expert at baiting him.

"I'm here for back-up," Tuxedo Kamen snapped.

Mars shrugged, smoothing her skirt over her thighs. "Funny that our back-up has a tendency to almost get himself killed on a weekly basis, huh?"

"If you two don't mind," Mercury called out, typing away on her computer with her usual impressive speed, "bringing down a security system of this magnitude is not an easy task. Quiet would be appreciated."

Mars and Tuxedo Kamen lapsed into silenced, chastened.

Mercury continued working on the computer for another fifteen minutes. By the end of it, all of them were reaching the end of their patience. Mercury, however, seemed to have a boundless supply. She just kept working, her brow furrowed and her fingers flying over the keys, slowing taking down the museums defenses.

Finally, she heaved a satisfied sigh and snapped her computer shut. "Fire alarms, motion detectors, and everything else is down. We're good to go."

"Thank heavens," Luna groused, stretching her front legs and then leaping into Mercury's waiting arms. "All right, Mars. Get us in there."

Mars gave a curt nod and jumped. Tuxedo Kamen and Mercury followed. It was difficult to keep their footing on the sloped roof, but they managed it with minimal noise. Mars tentatively made her way over to a part of the roof Mercury had selected earlier. Then she aimed a low-powered Fire Soul onto the tile, rendering it ash. She smiled and then leaned over the side, glancing down to the ground. "All clear."

"Tuxedo Kamen," Luna said, flicking her tail back and forth with satisfaction.

As ordered, Tuxedo Kamen pulled the rucksack from his back and opened the zip. He retrieved a large coil of black cable. Within a few minutes, he had it secured and then flung the rest of the coil through the hole.

"I still don't see why we can't jump down," Mars said. The rope had been his suggestion, so of course, she had to find fault with it.

"As I've explained several times now," Tuxedo Kamen countered, "there are still guards. Any loud noises might bring them running, and even if we can subdue them, I'd rather not."

"Feel free to keep arguing," Mercury informed them smoothly. "Luna and I will get going." Then she strode over to the hole, took hold of the cable, and began to rappel down.

Mars moved to follow, but Tuxedo Kamen reached out a hand to stop her.

"I know that you're upset with me," he began, wondering at what point their conversation was going to go differently. "But you really need to let this go."

Mars closed her eyes, her shoulders hunching slightly. He wondered what supposedly clever insult she would fling at him this time.

"Whatever happened with Usagi?"

Then again.

"What?"

"You never said," Mars reasoned. "So tell me. What happened with her?"

Under normal circumstances, he might have told her to mind her own business. But in the interest of improving relations, Tuxedo Kamen hesitated only a few seconds before answering. "She slammed the door in my face."

Her lips thinned. "Oh."

"Well," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "it's not as if there was anything I could do to convince her that I didn't just run away like a coward. Telling her the truth wasn't exactly an option."

"I guess not," Mars agreed. Her eyes flew open again, scrutinizing him with surprising intensity. Then she scowled. "Damn."

God but she was exasperating. "What now?"

"I was hoping that's what you were keeping from us," Mars informed him primly. "But no. I can tell you're still hiding something."

He nearly asked her why and then thought better of it. "I'm not hiding anything," he insisted, doing his best not to remember Sailor V's lips brushing against his ear or the sound of her laughter.

"Liar, liar, pants on… well, you know."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe it has nothing to do with the mission?" he asked, his temper crackling like a writhing firecracker. "Maybe it's something personal, and last time I checked, we're under no obligation to divulge all of the details of our personal lives."

Mars continued glowering. "And last time I checked, you didn't have a very keen understanding of what's personal and what's to do with the mission. So maybe you ought to err on the side of caution and just tell us everything."

He felt he'd been admirably self-contained throughout this whole ordeal, but he could not resist the urge to laugh in her face. "Are you insane?"

"I sincerely doubt it."

Tuxedo Kamen threw up his hands. "You are unbelievable. Utterly and totally."

"Maybe," she said. "But at least I'm honest."

With that, she turned on her heel and stalked over to the rope. Within seconds, she and her withering gaze had disappeared into the museum.

Tuxedo Kamen took the opportunity to make a rude gesture in her absence. Then, grumbling, he followed her down.

Once he reached the bottom, he caught sight of the girls' grim faces. It didn't take him very long to see why. "They moved it," he groaned. "Why did they do that?"

"Probably because someone tried to steal another priceless artifact today," Mercury informed him with just a tiny bite to her tone.

"Where would they have moved it?"

"I'm not sure. My first guess would be the vaults, but it's also possible they moved the crystal to its permanent location. I'm not sure how long they were planning on keeping it in the special exhibits room."

"Brilliant," Tuxedo Kamen snapped. He'd so been hoping for something to go right for them. "So what now?"

Mars shrugged. "Split up and look for it?"

Luna physically shrank away from the suggestion. "I'm not sure that's wise."

"Why not? We'll cover more ground that way."

"And if someone runs into Nephrite or a youma?" Luna queried.

"Don't get killed."

"Oh, very helpful, Mars."

"Much as I hate to admit it," Tuxedo Kamen interrupted, "I think Mars has a point. It's a sizeable building, and the sooner we find it, the sooner we can see if it's the Ginzuishou. And for all we know, Nephrite may already be there. If someone finds it, just give a call to the rest of us, and we'll come running. Hopefully, we can individually hold Nephrite off for a few minutes until reinforcements arrive."

Neither Mercury nor Luna looked particularly comfortable with this idea – probably because they were the least likely to be able to hold Nephrite off for any amount of time. Tuxedo Kamen was about to suggest that they split into pairs, when Mars intervened.

"Great. Mercury, you head towards the vaults since you're the only one who can actually get into them. Tuxedo Kamen that way, Luna that way, and I'll go this way."

"Wait—" he called out, but Mars had already gone on her way. He groaned, but ultimately, they all did what they were told. Everyone had learned by now that most of the time, it was not worth the energy to argue with Sailor Mars. So Tuxedo Kamen pulled his flashlight from his pants pocket, clicked it to the lowest setting, and then set off in search of the relocated crystal.

-----

"I still can't believe you talked me into this."

Minako glanced down at Artemis, who seemed to be eternally attached to her shoulder. "I feel like you say that to me far more than is normal."

"Hanging around you means the situation warrants it more than normal," Artemis deadpanned. "My entire life essentially consists of being talked into these inevitable catastrophes."

Minako rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Do you really want to chance waiting for tomorrow after what happened this afternoon?"

"We don't know what happened this afternoon," Artemis reminded her. "And I believe the principal reason for that is because _somebody_ couldn't get out of bed this morning and we had to take a later train."

"Bah," Minako said, waving this concern away like smoke. "Big deal. We know something happened, and I'd bet my bottom tooth—"

"Dollar. Or yen, I suppose."

"—that it was Nephrite or my favorite caped crusader," she concluded. She frowned. "Why would you bet your bottom dollar – or yen? Wouldn't you pull from the top?"

"I think the better question is why you mixed it up with tooth. Who bets teeth?"

"Well, maybe it was a gold tooth," she concluded. "The point is that we can't chance letting this go another day. If it's not the Ginzuishou and Nephrite's in there with the Less than Terrific Trio, I'd like to keep an eye on things."

Artemis twitched his whiskers. "And if it is the Ginzuishou, we should get our hands on it first. It'll make you a much more convincing moon princess."

"You don't have hands," Minako pointed out.

Artemis hung his head. "You tire me."

She glanced toward the front doors of the museum again, just in time to see the second of two outside guards returning. "Go! Quick!"

Artemis released yet another disappointed sigh, but hey obeyed readily enough. He darted forward, a white streak in the dark, making a beeline directly for the museum doors. He managed to dart between the legs of the second guard just as the door clicked shut behind him.

Grinning in triumph, Minako burst forth from her hiding place, yelling, "Artemis!" She ran to the two guards, feigning breathlessness. "Did my cat just run inside?"

The first guard, who seemed to be the sterner and more fit of the two gave her a tired look. He rather resembled her math teacher as a matter of fact. "Miss—"

"I swear I saw him come this way," Minako pressed.

The second guard stepped forward, his walrus mustache twitching beneath a large, stately nose. "Hold on, Takamori-san. I think the young lady's correct."

Minako breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness! He got out of the house, and I've been chasing him for blocks. If I could just—"

"No one's allowed inside," the first guard informed her, preemptively blocking her bath.

Minako stuck out her lower lip in a way she knew was both pitiful and fetching. "But I need to get my cat. He won't let anyone else get near him. He's very particular about things. The whole reason he ran off was because we switched his food."

She imagined Artemis standing on the other side of the door positively bristling at this portrayal, but hey, a good lie had to be detailed. He'd get over it.

"I don't fancy getting scratched, Takamori-san," the second guard said, mustache still twitching.

"No one's allowed inside."

Minako barely contained her own sigh. She did hate to have to do this the hard way. "Well, I suppose if one of you could go in, that would work. Just don't blame me when he bites your nose."

The second guard was clearly aware of the size of his nose and flinched at the thought. He jerked a thumb towards the doors. "You're the one being particular, Takamori-san. You track him down."

Takamori's face didn't actually move, but there was an imperceptible shift in his gaze to suggest he was growing more and more annoyed with this situation. Unfortunately, he couldn't refuse on the off-chance Artemis managed to ruin one or more of the exhibits. He turned and unlocked the door, pushing it open.

And then Minako took her chance.

She leapt up and launched a spinning kick at the back of Takamori's head. She connected easily, sending him sprawling forward the ground, propping the door open with his prone form. She could instantly tell that he wasn't going to be getting up any time soon.

That left her with the second guard to contend with. He bellowed in shock and rage, drawing his long nightstick from his belt. He swung hard, but she ducked that easily enough, dropping to her knees. She attempted to sweep his legs out from underneath, but he leapt over her outstretched leg like it was child's play. Quickly overcoming her own surprise, Minako began to scramble to her feet as the guard swung his stick again. She caught it, half-crouched and mere inches away from her face, and struggled to hold it back. She was running on pure adrenaline without her transformation to help her, and she knew that she didn't stand much of a chance.

With a yowl, Artemis appeared, flying at the guard's neck. He scratched and bit at what skin he could grasp, catching the man off guard. He leaned back, loosening his grip on the stick. This gave Minako the opportunity she needed to gain the upper hand. She yanked the stick out of his hands and swung it wide like a baseball bat. She hit the side of his head as hard as she dared. She watched, guilty and embarrassed, as the guard's eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and he crumpled to the ground.

Artemis disengaged himself from the guard's entangled limbs, frowning. "I thought this plan of yours was supposed to prevent beating up on civilians?"

Minako just stuck her tongue out.

"To coin your favorite phrase, 'whatever,'" Artemis drawled. Then he turned, picking his way over the bodies. "What are we going to do with these guys?"

"I'll stash them somewhere inside," Minako said, pulling out her crescent mirror by way of further explanation. "Then I guess we split up and track down the crystal."

"Which we wouldn't have to do if you—"

"Okay. Mission now, criticism later, Fuzz Butt. Let's do this!"

-----

At the back entrance of the museum, a sakura petal serpentine heralded his arrival as it always did, though Zoisite didn't feel the need to make it especially impressive considering no one was around to see it. He arrived floating a few inches above the ground, reluctantly uncrossing his legs and touching the ground. He did so hate to wander around such decidedly human soil. It was unseemly that he should have to walk the same path as humans. He was, after all, so much better-looking.

Of course, sharing space with youma was no better, particularly when the youma were too stupid to follow even the simplest of directions. His instructions had been clear as the crystal he sought, were they not? Check on the displayed crystal. Report back to him. Two simple steps. Zoisite really failed to see how the youma could have gone wrong.

"So hard to find good help these days," he muttered, chuckling to himself. "And it's so messy to kill them when they fail you."

He glanced around to see if he could spot the youma in the area, just in case it had somehow gotten mixed up and thought to wait for him, but the feline monster was nowhere to be found.

No matter. Zoisite could deign to get his hands dirty for the sake of a promising opportunity. Anything less, and he may have let it lapse. He certainly had done so already, despite Beryl's posturing. He was confident Kunzite could protect him far more than the man thought he was able.

It would have been nice to have an exact location on the thing, though. That was an inconvenience Zoisite could scarcely tolerate.

So, when he came across the first set of guards at the back entrance, he saw no reason to show mercy.

-----

Nephrite appeared in the special exhibits room that had previously housed the crystal only to discover that it was gone.

"Damn it all."

He strode forward, one hand digging into his hip, when he noticed a round patch of light on the floor. He arched an eyebrow and glanced up, momentarily surprised to see the hole in the ceiling. He crouched down and leapt upwards, getting a closer look at the damage.

Even with only the moon to help him, he could see the scorch marks that lined the rim. And barring that, he could definitely smell the char.

"Mars," he murmured, curling his lip. Then he paused. "Or Zoisite. The man's been known to use fire before."

He couldn't be sure of who had cast the fire spell to gain them entrance. It seemed unnecessary for Zoisite to come in through the roof, but Zoisite had been known to do superfluous things for the sake of destruction before. Mars did seem to be the more likely candidate, though Nephrite was a little surprised at the amount of control she'd shown in doing this if it had indeed been her. Mars had a tendency to burn indiscriminately, collateral damage be damned. This was almost… conservative.

In the end, it didn't really matter who was there. The important thing was that he wasn't alone.

But he had a mind to make sure that didn't last long.

-----

Locking the two guards in one of the offices had been no small chore, even for a super strong, super cute soldier such as herself. It would have helped if Artemis weren't a cat – really whose bright idea had that been – but his usefulness had essentially begun and ended with directing her around corners and making snide comments. It was all well and good for him to hide in plain sight preening his whiskers and tilting his head in that innocent 'who me?' expression, but would it have killed the powers-that-be to make him morph into a tiger or something when she needed a little more muscle?

It was times like this that Sailor V really hated this lone soldier crap.

Sailor V wiped a few beads of perspiration from her brow, reminding herself for the seventh time that day that it was not a permanent state of being. One day, in the unknowable future, she'd drop down into the lives of the other Senshi with the appropriate light show. Then she could chuck her lonely persona for something far more… what? Satisfying? Fulfilling?

"This is why I hate self-actualization," she muttered, parroting a term the school guidance counsel had grown fond of bandying around whenever she got the chance. Come to think of it, she wasn't entirely sure what it meant. But hey, it's not like anyone was around to hear it. Artemis had already skipped off into that good night, and though he said it was to look for the crystal, she had a feeling he'd be proudly depositing a dead mouse at her feet before the night was over.

"Gross," she said with intense feeling and pushed off the door. Then she went in search of the crystal herself.

It occurred to her about five seconds later that she couldn't see three feet in front of her.

Her shoulders slumped and she felt rather like a deflated beachball. "Damn it, Artemis. You know I'm not going to think of these things, and you're a _cat_. You can see in the dark!" She pouted, stubbing her toe against the ground. "Useless fuzzy little—"

She stopped short when she saw a thin stream of light cross the doorway at her left.

"Hello," she muttered in an exaggerated British accent. "What's all this then?"

Quiet as that mouse Artemis was sure to munch on, Sailor V stole forward, moving on the balls of her feet so her heels didn't clack against the floor. In her own silence, she noticed that her quarry didn't feel the need to muffle his own movements. She heard fabric rustling and shoes squeaking, along with a string of curses that made her blush. Not that she'd ever admit it.

She thought she recognized the voice, but frankly she'd come across so many detectives, policemen, criminals, and others in her time as Sailor V that this was hardly momentous. It was only when she hovered in the doorway and saw the outline of his top hat that she understood who she was dealing with.

She posed in what she hoped was a sufficiently alluring and intimidating manner and waited until he swung the light in her direction. She was rather pleased that he found her legs first, which she'd always considered to be one of her top three features. When he moved to her face, she flashed him a confident smile.

"Heist much?"

-----

Not for the first time, Luna wondered what horrendous sin she had committed in her Moon Kingdom days to earn her this gross punishment.

It had been bad enough dealing with Mamoru on his own – he was smug and overconfident, which would have been tolerable if he had the skill set to back it up. She had gained Ami, who was a sweet girl, but too timid for Luna's tastes. She had to admit, Ami was improving in that regard, but there were times when Luna had to worry about her priorities. And then of course there was Rei, who was a war unto herself. Her temper was entirely unmanageable and this infatuation with Mamoru caused far more problems Luna simply did not have the energy to deal with.

The revelation that Mamoru kept things from them had left her wondering what she was doing there at all.

She had done her best to be Mamoru's confidant if not his friend. Perhaps the nature of their relationship didn't invite easy familiarity, but it should not have made him even more closed off. And for some reason, it had.

Luna didn't know what she could have done differently, and perhaps that was the problem. Maybe she couldn't see her own shortcomings as a guardian. Then again, it seemed equally possible that she oughtn't be so self-centered. It could very well have nothing to do with her.

The one bright spot of this whole mess was that Luna felt fairly certain that she might be able to track this crystal down. At least, assuming it was the Ginzuishou she now sought. Rei and Ami would no doubt be able to track magic in and of itself, but Luna herself could be just a tad more specific. She would easily be able to scent magic tied specifically to the Silver Millennium. If the Ginzuishou or anything else connected with them and their past was here, she felt confident that she would find it. And Luna was almost positive she was on the trail of something. There was really only one glitch.

The signature seemed to be on the move.

Luna couldn't make sense of it. For a moment, she knew it was to her right, and then all of a sudden, it simply wasn't. She had absolutely no idea what it meant and the implications of it unnerved her. Was the crystal somehow sentient? Was it evading her? And why would it feel the need to do such a thing?

Frowning, Luna pushed her nose closer to the museum floor and continued to seek out the magical scent. She padded her way forward, whiskers twitching and tail aloft, making her way along path the magic had made. Something familiar. Something a little too familiar, truth be told.

She rounded the corner and collided with solid matter. She leapt back with a yowl, her paw reaching towards her bruised nose… and paused when she heard an echo of the sound.

Luna's eyes flew open, and just one feet in front of her stood a mirror image of herself. But in negative. It was white where she was black with green eyes instead of brown. She also saw subtle differences between them – her reflection seemed more muscular and sharper where she was softer. And it held its nose with both paws. But more than anything she noticed the golden crescent etched into its forehead, a perfect twin of her own.

She stared for close to thirty seconds before her pale reflection noticed anything amiss. Then its eyes focused on her. Where she clearly felt and expressed shock, it seemed to be… irritated.

Then the reflection very clearly said, "Bugger," turned tail, and ran.

That snapped her out of it right quick.

"Wait!" she called, immediately giving chase. "Come back here!"

It wasn't a crystal, but even she couldn't complain about the discovery of another moon cat.

-----

Sailor Mercury was beginning to suspect that the remainder of her tenure as a soldier was going to peppered – no, saturated – with moments that seemed deceptively simple at the start and then snowball into something altogether too difficult to properly explain. She had been searching for far longer than she had assumed would be necessary, guided by the light of her computer. Thus far, she had turned up absolutely nothing. It was beyond maddening.

Trying to find the crystal, which was not necessarily _the_ crystal, was far worse than finding a needle in a haystack. It was rather like finding a very specific needle in a pile of other varying non-descript needles, but the difference between all of those needles was so slight it was almost imperceptible. Even with the Mercury Computer, this task was proving far more taxing than she ever could have guessed.

She supposed that much could be blamed on Nephrite, though only in part. She'd been in the process of scanning the crystal in addition to saving it to the computer's archives, although doing so had slowed the machine's performance considerably. She'd thought it would be the most efficient way to go about things, but then Nephrite had shown up and mucked up her plans.

Of course, that was her fault, not planning for the likely contingency. It was unlike her, but she had been considerably rattled by the train ride. In truth, it had shaken already weak foundations of her psyche in regards to Mamoru and his reticence.

That was putting it too kindly, she knew, but she had chosen the sympathetic course in order to maintain equilibrium within the group, and she didn't dare deviate any more than she had.

Mercury wanted to be understanding. She truly did. She didn't know Mamoru very well, but she could glean enough. He was a typical Japanese male in many ways, and that meant he had a certain infuriating amount of stoicism. She suspected the dreams had disturbed him, and that was part of the reason why he'd kept them to himself. Men didn't like to show weakness, particularly in the face of women, much less girls like Rei and herself.

Not to suggest that Mamoru was sexist, but there was a certain amount of cultural conditioning at play here, she knew. She was also sure that much of it was simply intrinsic to his introspective personality. There, she could certainly relate.

However, she was also positive that there was more to the story than he had revealed, and this was the part of the affair that disturbed her. There was some mystery here, perhaps more baffling than this crystal they were suddenly chasing. She didn't know if the puzzle lay within Mamoru's past, his past life, or his present. More to the point, she didn't know if it was their prerogative to attempt to unravel. She did know that there was something about this whole affair that left her feeling ill at ease with him.

Mercury glanced up as her computer registered a number of different tones. The first seemed to indicate that perhaps the crystal was close, or at least something of comparable power. She brought out the blue crystal to see if it was registering anything similar, but she could detect no change. The second was a call from one of the communicators. Once she replaced the crystal, she answered the call.

"It's me," Mars's voice panted over the line. Normally, Mercury would have considered this identification superfluous, but given that the screen was displaying nothing but darkness, she found herself grateful for it.

The gratitude froze into fear with the next words spoken.

"He's here."

-----

It had been Luna's suggestion to attempt to use her fire as a light source, Mars remembered. Of course, if she was less selective, she would also recall that she'd been enthusiastic about this notion. Discovering a new way to use her powers, even in a mundane fashion, had been thrilling in theory.

Emphasis on 'in theory.'

Mars wasn't sure if it was the volatile nature of her element or of her personality that made it extremely difficult to control the flame. It was an exercise in frustration. And of course, every time she got irritated, the fire flared again, which helped not at all.

"I like you so much better when I'm burning things," she informed her element through bared teeth.

It also didn't help that she'd been searching the building for the better part of an hour without actually finding anything. She'd hoped that she'd be able to pick out the crystal's magical signature and go directly to it and have done with this whole mess.

But Ami had warned her, hadn't she? There were numerous historical items holed up in the museum, some of which had magical signatures of varying strengths. All that energy was bound to get muddled together over time. And the powers of the items were bound to distract her.

She really wished someone had bothered to tell her that one day she'd be using her psychic abilities on such a regular basis so she could have had some opportunity to prepare.

Still, at long last, Mars felt like perhaps she was on the right track. It was nothing she could pinpoint with any accuracy. She simply felt like she was moving in the right direction, which was more than she could have said for her previous hour of searching. She was bordering on being in a good mood in spite of wandering around in the dark with a jumpy bit of fire in her hands.

In the distance, she heard a footfall.

Before she even registered what the sound was and what it meant, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. Her head began to pound and her skin broke out into a cold sweat. Her knees gave way in the same moment that her flames fizzled out. She knew of only one person who could bring weaken her simply by being close to her, and she knew she had to work fast.

Mars dragged herself behind a prominent display. She shut her eyes and worked on closing the doors of her mind so that she could focus on the here and now. She'd left herself wide open looking for Ginzuishou despite the risks, and now she was paying for it. It was tedious work that had to be done without rushing, but she still needed to work quickly.

But finally, she managed it. She was shielded once again and sucked in gulps of air like it was cold water. She trembled from the aftershocks of the psychic assault, but held her body taut against them. Now was not the time to coddle herself.

She maneuvered slowly to the right, moving as soundlessly as she could manage. She could tell that he was still in the room, but she'd shielded herself so intensely that she could not even venture a guess as to how close he was. She shifted her hips and then leaned out as far as she dared.

There was Nephrite, so close she could have touched him.

She dove back behind the display, biting back a scream. It was all right, Mars assured herself. His back had been to her. He hadn't seen.

But this was bad. Nephrite was more experienced than her, and no doubt he was opening his mind as wide as he dared. He was more experienced. Would he recognize her own power in the room, however stifled?

Mars shut her eyes and did her best to make herself invisible. She shielded herself even more intensely, building up walls that had never been in place before. It was a veritable psychic fort.

Then she held her breath and listened. She heard his soft, practiced footfalls circle the room, and pictured him in her mind's eye. His furrowed, prominent brow, permanently creased from glowering and inward thought. The sharp jut of his jaw and his full lips pressed together so that they almost vanished. Tension in his shoulders, the reflexive clenching and unclenching of his fists, the veins standing out in his neck.

He continued to circle for what felt like hours, scouring the room with a thoroughness she would not have the patience for. She couldn't hold out for much longer. Soon, every defense she had would come shattering down, and then he'd find her, alone, too weak to fight him off.

At last, she heard the sound of his footfalls grow more distant, and then more, until they were gone completely. She exhaled, releasing the extra defenses far too quickly, nearly losing consciousness from the shock. She fell back, twisting so that she could rest her forehead against the cool stone floor. The sensation grounded her, reminded her of what was tangible and real. She swallowed again and again, suppressing the urge to vomit.

When she no longer felt like she was going to be sick, Mars pushed herself up onto her elbows, wiped the stinging wetness from her eyes, and pulled out her communicator.

"It's me," she rasped into the mouthpiece once she was connected. "He's here."

-----

Tuxedo Kamen did not understand why even after months of this lifestyle, he still jumped when someone snuck up on him. "You scared the crap out of me."

Sailor V nodded solemnly. "That's because I'm better at sneaking than you."

"I'll work on it," he drawled. "I'm guessing we're after the same thing."

"Could be. I'm thinking of something mysterious, silver, probably shiny."

"Any luck?"

"Nope," she answered. "But then I don't know where it is."

"Neither do we," Tuxedo Kamen growled, quickly relating the discovery of its relocation, with a few graceful edits here and there.

She frowned, and under the focused beam of his flashlight, she looked positively ghoulish. "I hate when people purposefully make things more difficult. Also, did I hear a 'we'?"

He felt his cheeks grow warm and felt increasingly thankful for the darkness. "The others are here." He paused, wondering if he should mention the strained relations on the fairly good chance they ran into the others. He decided against it. "Did you bring your pet?"

Sailor V giggled, the youthful sound unnerving him. He wondered if maybe he'd been wrong in supposing she was closer to his age than the other girls. "He'd scratch your eyes out if he heard that. He has a very large sense of pride. But yes, he's here. Yours?"

"Somewhere."

"Who disabled the power by the way?" Sailor V asked.

"That'd be Mercury. She has this computer I'm pretty sure could arm the machines against us if it was so inclined."

"Nice," she said, raising her eyebrows appreciatively. "All I got was a pen that could do my homework for me. Well, technically, it was meant for disguise, but I found a few other uses for it."

He chuckled, relaxing more than he'd dared in a week. He'd forgotten what it was like not to be bombarded by resentment and hostility every hour of the day. "That sounds pretty good to me."

He couldn't be completely sure, but he was willing to bet that she actually pouted during her next statement. "Artemis took it away. He said that it was unbecoming of a soldier to cheat on her math homework." She shook her head sadly. "He abuses me so."

"I sympathize," Tuxedo Kamen murmured, shaking his head. "Believe me."

Just then, his communicator chimed. He tossed the flashlight to Sailor V without warning, but she caught it without flinching. He pulled the gadget out of his pocket, pausing when Sailor V coughed in an attempt to cover her laughter.

"Pink calculator?"

He shrugged. "Real men wear pink," he assured her, connecting.

"And tuxedos," she whispered, too softly for the communicator to pick up.

"It's me," Mars's rasping voice breathed over the intercom. "He's here."

Forgetting himself again, Tuxedo Kamen swore, slamming his hand against the wall. "Can nothing go right today?"

"Are you all right?" Mercury interrupted, asking the question he should have voiced.

"Fine," Mars grumbled, clearly thinking that as well. "He didn't see me. I just… wasn't expecting it is all."

Tuxedo Kamen remembered just how bad things could get when Mars encountered dark forces when she wasn't prepared. "Where are you?"

"I am not a damsel in need of saving, thank you," she snapped.

"Why can't you just admit when you need help?" he returned with equal bite.

"Are you not listening? I don't _need_ help."

"Who's the liar now?" he challenged, immediately regretting it.

"Still you," Mars spat. "And if you really want to get into it now—"

"Don't," Mercury interrupted, her voice cold as steel. "Just don't. You are both acting like spoiled children, and I have been doing my best not to get involved, but I promise, if this continues for much longer, I will do something drastic."

He paused. He wasn't sure if he believed her, and he was positive that Mars didn't, but Mercury was right. They were behaving ridiculously, and they had absolutely no hope of dealing with Nephrite if they didn't reign it in.

"Sorry, Mercury," he murmured sincerely.

Mars muttered something, which very nearly set him off again. He had plenty of flaws, but at least he could apologize with dignity.

"Finally," Mercury sighed, sounding weary of the both of them. "Mars, just as you called, my computer picked up on something that could be the crystal. We ought to regroup. Meet me—"

Static erupted from the tiny device so suddenly that he almost dropped it. He heard something like a distant cry and the sound of something falling. It might have been a body.

"Mercury?" he shouted, unable to restrain himself. "Mercury, are you there?"

Dead silence.

"Mercury!" he repeated, knowing it was pointless. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind in the span of a second. Every one of them ended in blood. He stared at Sailor V in dawning horror, unable to ignore the grim set of her mouth.

Mars was still trying to get Mercury to answer from her end. He was about to tell her stop, when she let out what could not be mistaken for anything but a sob. "Damn it! I should have followed him. I should never have—"

"It's all right," he assured her, and he meant it. He didn't know what had happened with Mars and Nephrite, but he knew if she was shaken enough not to disguise her tears, it must have been draining to say the least. "It'll be okay. Is there any chance you can find her? Track her or something?"

"I… I don't know. I've never tried with a person before."

"Try," he begged. Then he shut the communicator down, barely resisting the urge to pelt it across the room.

"I knew splitting up was a bad idea," he snarled. "I should never have let it go. I shouldn't—"

"You're wasting time," Sailor V interrupted with cold assurance. And of course he was. That was part of the reason why he'd stopped Mars before she could go for too long. There wasn't time to spend on self-pity. "If Nephrite's got her, you don't have any."

Part of him wanted to hate her for the honesty, but another part of him appreciated it. "I know," he said. "I've got to—"

"We've got to," she corrected.

He paused. That, he hadn't been expecting. "What?"

Sailor V's frowned deepened, marring her forehead with creases. "I just… I have a bad feeling. I can't explain it, but I think I should help you if I can."

He didn't miss the emphasis on the latter half of the sentence. It wasn't a guarantee, but it was something. And Tuxedo Kamen was not in a position to refuse even the possibility of assistance.

"I'll go left; you go right," she ordered, turning on her heel and running. He didn't hesitate in following the directive, their footsteps echoing concurrently as they ran.

And with every step, he prayed that Mercury was alive.

-----

In Zoisite's opinion, the evening had taken an extreme turn for the better. True, his youma had abandoned him, but he'd managed to work out that aggression in spades already. And now he'd come across one of the Sailor Senshi and taken her captive! And she'd been close to finding the blasted crystal!

Zoisite was bordering on giddy.

He chuckled, twirling the ends of his hair between his fingers as he bent over Sailor Mercury's crumpled form. He certainly hadn't been anticipating on running into one of them here, but perhaps it lent credence to the lead. Though when she'd appeared, he'd hoped for a bit more of a struggle. Really, one conk on the head, and it was over? He expected better.

He would have to be sure to point that out to Nephrite later. On several occasions as a matter of fact.

However, there were pressing matters to attend to, and he wasn't one to procrastinate. Now that he had a Sailor Senshi, there remained the question of what to _do_ with her. The obvious answer was to kill her, naturally. Certainly that would be the ultimate aim, but to simply stab her while she was unconscious felt… unsatisfying.

No, killing her outright was out of the question. Much as Beryl would have appreciated a Senshi's head on a silver – no, platinum – platter, Zoisite had a feeling she'd love a live Senshi that much more. Then they could have a little fun with her. And he felt sure that he'd (because of course he would be given this honor after bringing her to the Dark Kingdom in the first place) be able to extract some valuable information from her. Like the identities of the other Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen perhaps.

Why, Zoisite might have simultaneously solved Beryl's Senshi problem and found the Silver Crystal! It would effectively solve two of the biggest problems the Dark Kingdom had. More importantly, it would impress Kunzite and infuriate Nephrite beyond telling. And once lofted to power beyond what Nephrite's fingers could grasp at, Zoisite could certainly dispose of the vexing general with little trouble.

Zoisite smiled. Life was good.

But first there was the matter of the crystal. Mercury had claimed to be on to something with that little computer of hers…. Now, where had it gone?

Zoisite cast his eyes across the floor until he saw a light blue rectangle standing out against the gloom. He held out his hand and beckoned at the object, calling it forth with a little more difficulty than he expected, but catching it easily enough. To his surprise, the computer had shut upon impact. He moved to pry the computer open.

Sparks shot out from every inch of the device, and his fingers began to freeze where the touched the lid. He dropped it in shock, letting it clatter to the ground without ceremony.

"Fine," he snarled at the machine. "I don't need moon technology anyway." He kicked the computer in a fit of pique, smiling with satisfaction as it went skating off into the darkness.

And then, just because he felt like it, he kicked Mercury soundly in the head.

Oddly enough, this action prompted yet another surprise. His kick had managed to dislodge something she'd had secreted in her fuku. He bent down to pick it up, arching an eyebrow when he saw what it was.

"Wrong color," he remarked, examining the crystal. "Still, could be useful."

He tucked the blue gem away for further study later. Then he gestured at her prone body, and a tiny cyclone of sakura petals appeared beneath her body, lifting her off the floor. "Come along then."

-----

For too long, Nephrite had felt as though he was stumbling around in the dark. The stars had hidden themselves from him, and for awhile, it seemed that the crystal would as well.

And then he'd found it.

He felt it the moment he entered the room, though the trail was so slight he could have missed it had he not been so meticulous. Even knowing it was there did not make discovering it any easier. It still took him a few minutes of searching before he uncovered it, hiding, oddly enough, inside an urn from a long-forgotten era.

The crystal had done its best to evade him and was still in no mood to be caught. However, it was not powerful enough to slip from his grasp once he closed cold fingers around the even colder gem. He pulled it from the urn and held it out, inspecting this bit of mystery.

The crystal was undoubtedly pale, but even in the dim light, he could see it shining as if it contained an aurora at its center. It was multi-faceted and smooth, as if carved by man, but there was something raw about it. Something that made it feel as though humanity in all its blundering efficacy had nothing to do with it. He wondered if it had emerged from the Earth like this, cut and smooth.

Nephrite called forth the black stone. Its slimness felt odd in the left hand with his right containing such bulk. He lifted the black prism, touching one point to the crystal's surface delicately, almost afraid of what it would do. Tension raced out of his shoulders when the black crystal simply began to glow and nothing exploded in his face.

"Stop right there!"

Speaking of explosions.

Nephrite craned his neck to see Sailor Mars standing in the doorway. She looked rather the worse for wear. Her eyes couldn't quite focus on him, and he marveled at her stupidly for confronting him alone.

"Where is she?" Mars snarled.

He arched an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Liar!" Mars declared, stumbling forward and attempting to make it look intentional. She raised her hands, squeezing her forefingers together. "If you don't tell me where she is, I swear to God, I will turn you into a charred mess."

Nephrite scoffed, turning back to the crystals in his hands. He studied them both for a moment, the glowing black and the rainbow white, and then all at once, the dark light sputtered out.

It was not the Ginzuishou.

Hours of effort and countless energy spent on this task, and now this wasn't even the right crystal. A waste. It had all been an utter waste. He didn't have the crystal; he didn't have a victim. He didn't even have the comfort of the heavens. He had nothing now but rage and unwanted company.

"Stop glaring at that stupid thing and tell me where you took Mercury!" Mars demanded. "Or I'll—"

"Is this who you're looking for?"

Nephrite whirled at the sound of the familiar lisp, his fingers curling protectively around discovery while simultaneously vanishing the black crystal. For a moment, he saw nothing but empty space, but it quickly filled with the image of swirling sakura petals. Arriving in his typical overdramatic fashion, there stood the least of the generals, carting around a little blue girl as if she were a dog about to be put down.

"Mercury!" Mars cried out, only just stopping herself from running forward. "What have you done?"

Neither of the men paid the girl any mind. She could be dealt with later. "Zoisite," he snarled, tasting blood. If Zoisite managed to bring Mercury back to the Dark Kingdom, to do what he had failed to do, he would be ruined. If he wasn't dead already.

"Nephrite," Zoisite returned, his voice full of knives and poison smiles. "Fancy seeing you here, looking for the silver crystal. Funny, I seem to remember that assignment falling to me."

Nephrite hid the stones and gathering power into his freed hands. He'd tread onto Zoisite's territory knowingly, and he'd been caught. There was no more room in their feud for a duel of words. Chances were good that only one of them would make it out of this alive.

"Obviously, you needed some assistance," Nephrite returned coolly. "What with your youma falling victim to that unfortunate accident."

Zoisite sniffed. "I should have known that was you. You do have a fondness for blasting my scouts into dust."

"To be fair, I broke its neck."

"How quaint." Zoisite's eyes fell to the crystal cupped in Nephrite's hand. They gleamed with desire and malicious intent. "Is that it? Is that the Ginzuishou?"

The question was enough to set him on edge again. But he swallowed his anger and simply said, "As if I'll be telling you."

Zoisite's pale skin started to flush pink. "Give it to me."

Nephrite flexed his wrists, doubling the power he'd gathered. "Come and get it."

"I am so not in the mood for this pissing contest," Mars spat, stepping in between them. "You're both pathetic, and the only one walking out of here with that crystal and Mercury is going to be me."

Zoisite stared at the crimson-clad soldier for a bare moment before his lips curled into a horrible little smile. Nephrite had to give Mars credit for one thing; she didn't appear the least bit shaken by it.

"Well then," Zoisite said pleasantly, waving his hand at Mercury. The sakura petals suspending her rose up, forming a cage of wind and flowers that looked innocent, but Nephrite knew was deadly enough. Then the blond called forth an onyx dagger. It shone like his teeth, glittering and feral.

"Let's have at it, shall we?"

-----

Sailor V was used to running for her life and the lives of others, but she could not recall when any such race had been so significant. One day, Mercury would be her teammate. Sailor V knew that she would be needed if they had any hope of defeating the Dark Kingdom. If she or Tuxedo Kamen was too late to save her….

Just then, she saw the tell-tale signs of battle up ahead. Her heart told her that she wanted to run in, consequences be damned, but somehow, her feet ignored her. She skidded to a stop just outside the door and peered around the corner.

She saw three people she expected and one she never saw coming.

"Damn it," she swore, spinning away. Retrieving Mercury from Nephrite would have been difficult enough with Mars and Tuxedo Kamen. She would have been willing to expose her identity if it meant getting the girl back. It would have meant killing Nephrite, which she had wanted to avoid and leave for her still learning allies, but she understood that sacrifices had to be made.

Unfortunately, she had not counted on Zoisite being there.

He looked harmless. Zoisite was often underestimated for being the lowest ranked and the least physically intimidating, but she knew better. She hadn't dealt with him often during her time in London, but on the few occasions that their paths had crossed, she had learned he was a deadly and willful adversary.

But more to the point, he would know her instantly. And he would immediately retreat to the Dark Kingdom and bring Kunzite in tow.

One Dark Kingdom general, she could deal with. Maybe two if they could bring Mercury around. But three, particularly when one of those three was Kunzite?

They would all be killed.

Sailor V felt cold and sick, and her knees didn't seem to want to work properly. What was she supposed to do? Without her, Tuxedo Kamen and the others might not stand a chance against the combined powers of Nephrite and Zoisite. But with her, she was signing their death warrants. With her would come Kunzite, and with Kunzite came blood. Always, always blood.

She trembled and her eyes began to burn. Why did Zoisite have to be there? Why couldn't it have just been Nephrite? She could have played the hero and come to their rescue. They would have been grateful. Maybe they would have even wanted to be her friend.

But now she could see no course of action save running into the dark like a coward.

Suddenly, she heard three sets of footsteps echoing down the corridors. She looked up and saw Tuxedo Kamen sprinting down the hallway with two flashlight beams circling him as he ran. Apparently he'd run into some security guards in his mad search for Sailor Mercury. He had evaded them thus far, but now he was about to come upon the battle that would decide his fate.

She couldn't help him with the generals, but she could do this.

Sailor V shot a crescent beam over the guards' heads, bringing them to a grinding halt. She sprang towards the trio. Tuxedo Kamen kept running towards her. And as their paths crossed, she gently touched his arm.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and wondered if he had heard.

She crouched down and leapt over the two guards. She rolled as she landed and then raced in the opposite direction. As she'd hoped for, they followed her, moving away from real danger. She'd lead them outside the museum and as far away as possible.

"I'm sorry," she repeated to the wind, hoping against hope that Zoisite wasn't the only one she'd underestimated.

-----

It hadn't taken Mars very long to realize that this was not one of her better ideas.

Her performance had been average at best when dealing with Nephrite on his own, though she was loathe to admit it. Her chances against two Dark Kingdom generals at once were not good. In the end, her one saving grace seemed to be that the two men were so focused on killing each other that they tended to forget that she was there.

From the moment Zoisite began their tri-soldier tournament, both men had been singular in their focus. Nephrite stood his ground as Zoisite raced towards him, vanishing at a distance and reappearing hovering above the larger man. His knife careened towards Nephrite's neck at an alarming speed, but Nephrite caught Zoisite's wrist with ease. Nephrite started to twist his arm, but Zoisite quickly wriggled out of his grasp. More to exercise his frustration than anything else, Zoisite had turned to her, hurtling _sakura petals_ of all things.

Mars didn't think she'd ever been more insulted in her life.

With a snarl, she leapt above the attack and quickly launched a Fire Soul at Zoisite from directly overhead. He smirked and puffed out his cheeks, blowing his own fire in equal measure towards her. Their twin attacks collided and exploded outwards. She just barely managed to twist away from the flames. Zoisite, of course, had teleported, which Mars really felt was cheating.

Mars landed without sure footing, so it was more luck than anything else that she avoided Nephrite's kick. She rolled away er and threw a few ofunda towards him. He vanished, and then continued attending to Zoisite.

Mars felt like screaming. To begin with, she felt rather like a neglected child. They weren't even trying to hurt her. She ought to have considered this a blessing, but in reality, it made her feel inferior. Didn't she even matter to her own enemies, the people who were supposedly trying to kill her?

She shut her eyes, shoving those thoughts away. Now was not the time to be petulant. As long as they weren't watching her, she needed to check on Mercury. She crawled forward, keeping low as stray starbursts and ice shards flew about. When she reached Mercury, she whispered, "Mercury? Mercury, can you hear me?"

The silence that followed was a sure sign that she did not. Even with the sakura curtain between them, Mars could see the protruding bump on Mercury's head. Apparently, Zoisite had knocked her out but good. She was, however, breathing fairly steadily. It would be a miracle of the girl wasn't concussed, but Tuxedo Kamen could attend to that later.

Well, there was no sense sitting around waiting for the Knight in a Stupid Cape to show up. If she wanted to get this done, she'd have to do it herself.

Against two full-fledged generals when she was already not at her best.

"Yeah, this is going to go swimmingly," Mars muttered. Then she leapt to her feet and rushed back into the fray.

-----

His blood was singing. Part funeral dirge and part battle cry, it thrummed in his veins, his heart dictating the tempo like a bass drum. Nephrite could almost hear the low, rumbling voices chanting in a long dead language, driving him on, directing him towards the kill. He saw no reason to ignore their call.

He lost track of Mars for a moment, giving him the opportunity to focus on Zoisite, the bigger of the two threats. He clapped both hands together, forming a huge ball of energy around his wrists. He spun and sent it flying, quickly following up with two more smaller ones. Zoisite raced towards him, dodging through the obstacle course as if it might not cost him life or limb. Then he sent forth his own volley of sakura petals and ice shards, something Nephrite found to be more annoying then damaging.

Nephrite called upon his own sword, molding it into something broader and heavier than his usual preference. He ducked down and swung it in a loop over his head with both hands, testing the weight. Nephrite swung up again and abruptly changed direction, driving down towards Zoisite's conniving head. The other man snarled and held up both hands, conjuring another dagger and fortifying them for the blow. Nephrite connected, and the stones groaned against one another, chipping and scraping.

"You had no right," Zoisite fumed, his ears darkening.

Nephrite merely raised an eyebrow and kicked, catching Zoisite in the ribs and no doubt breaking a few. The blond stumbled back. "I take what I want."

Doubled over, Zoisite hugged himself and wheezed. "You'll pay for it."

"Maybe," Nephrite conceded. "But you'll collect nothing."

Zoisite howled and raced forward, but as fate would have it, he didn't get too far. Just then, Mars entered the contest once more, barreling her small but considerably powerful fist into his chin. Zoisite reeled, and she caught him by the hair and gave it a good yank. She held him there and kicked him in the kidneys – once, twice, three times – before Zoisite managed to sink one of his daggers into her thigh.

She screamed, clutching the bleeding limb. Zoisite threw his other dagger, aiming for her head. She yanked the first knife out of her leg and used it to knock the other away. Then he held out both hands, calling the knives back to him. She looked at Zoisite with rage paralleled only by Nephrite's.

And then it occurred to Nephrite that they could help each other.

Zoisite raised both knives above his head, but Nephrite sent his sword hurtling into the dark and caught the other general by the wrists and bent held him. To her credit, Mars did not question why Nephrite had decided to come to her aid. She simply spun and propelled her heel backward into his gut, hitting the exact spot Nephrite had already hit. When she drew her leg back, Zoisite's blood spurted out, coating the heel of her shoe.

"Bitch!" Zoisite shouted, kicking upward. He caught her on the chin, and she fell back hard. Zoisite teleported away. Nephrite sensed him reappear behind him and spun just in time to see Zoisite throwing fire in his face.

Nephrite doubled over backwards so that his back was parallel to the ground to avoid the attack. He was surprised by Mars's flashing violet eyes from her position on the ground. She spat a mouthful of blood into his face and kicked him in the back of the head. It sent him upright, and he pitched forward, tumbling into Zoisite, who stabbed him once in the shoulder for good measure.

"So much for temporary alliances," Nephrite growled. He head-butted Zoisite as hard as he could, his vision spotting. He whirled dangerously, precariously balanced. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mars roll back onto her upper back and then spring up, crouching like a tiger waiting to charge.

The violent music in his blood stopped, replaced by a wounded sonata.

Unsurprisingly, it was Zoisite who charged first. "Die!"

"Just try it," Mars challenged, blood pouring down her chin and fire flaring in her hands as she jumped towards them.

Nephrite merely smiled as the music came once more.

Nephrite aimed a volley of energy at Zoisite's wrists. The smaller man dropped the blades instantly, and they vanished in a puff of smoke. Then Mars arrived, throwing fire in their faces. Both generals teleported and reappeared behind her, spinning into twin roundhouse kicks – Nephrite high and Zoisite low.

Mars whirled just in time to see the dual assault. She held her hands up to catch and accept the blow to the chest, leaping over Zoisite's kick. She pushed Nephrite's leg away and elbowed him in the sternum. Zoisite aimed a left hook for her face, but she dodged, dropping to the ground.

Nephrite launched a burst of energy at the red soldier like an underhanded pitch. The blows were beginning to weigh on her, and this time, she didn't have the wherewithal to dive away. It caught her in stomach, and she let out a horrible howl. She flew through the air and slammed on the opposite wall. She coughed and spat out another mouthful of blood, clearly grappling for consciousness. And while Zoisite may have wanted to bring Sailor Mercury back for a public beheading, Nephrite had no such penchant for the dramatic. He had no qualms of bringing in a few warm corpses.

He raised his good hand over his head, preparing for the kill.

Two flashes of red zipped through the air, somehow turning in the air as if on a track. Nephrite didn't have to inspect them closely to know they were a pair of roses, which formed a perfect 'x' in front of Mars's struggling form.

Zoisite and Nephrite both turned to see Tuxedo Kamen posed perfectly in the doorway, a picture of towering and impotent rage. He plucked three more roses out of the air, brandishing them as if they were a threat. "I am so tired of you," he snarled.

"And here I thought we were getting to be such good friends," Nephrite drawled.

"Let them go."

"God, this is boring," Zoisite sighed. "How do you stand this same old song and dance?"

Nephrite began to shoot Zoisite a withering glance, but turned fully when he heard Mars wheeze with effort. He couldn't help but be shocked and mildly impressed that the girl was getting to her feet. What she lacked in skill, she certainly made up for in sheer grit.

"Crystal," she hissed, leaning against the wall for support in a way she thought wasn't obvious. "Nephrite's got the crystal. Left pocket."

That signaled an end to their dazzling conversation. Tuxedo Kamen threw the three roses in Zoisite's direction, forcing the other man to dodge, and then rushed for Nephrite. He heard Zoisite cry out in pain and saw Mars taking up the attack against him, grunting with effort.

And as Tuxedo Kamen streaked forward, Nephrite thought that maybe he was getting tired of the song and dance after all.

Unless of course, he could change the last refrain.

-----

Tuxedo Kamen's mission was clear, if not simple. He had to get to Mercury and see if she was even alive. He had to get Mars to safety where her wounds could be tended to. And above all, he had to get the crystal. His ignorance as to its purpose did not change the fact that anything Nephrite wanted had to be kept away from him at all costs.

He struck with the cane first, ramming the tip into Nephrite's ribs. It connected hard, and knowing that he was unlikely he'd be able to use it in this manner again, he sent it back to parts unknown, prepared to retrieve it should Nephrite care to bring out his sword.

However, for the time being at least, Nephrite seemed to prefer hand-to-hand. He struck with fists and elbows and knees so quickly Tuxedo Kamen was nearly left stranded on the defensive. He managed to fake with his left and then swung his right fist to catch Nephrite in the gut. Then he swung around, driving his heel into the general's thigh.

As he spun, Tuxedo Kamen watched how Mars was faring. She was bleeding badly and was clearly having trouble keeping up with her opponent. It was really nothing short of a miracle that she was even standing. She was fending Zoisite off almost exclusively with her fire and ofunda, and he could tell from the sweat pouring down her face that she wouldn't last much longer.

Nephrite came around with a right hook, but Tuxedo Kamen caught his wrist and held as tight as he could manage. He repeated this defense when Nephrite countered with a left uppercut. And so there they were again, caught in a stalemate Tuxedo Kamen was neither strong enough to hold or break.

"Is it the crystal?" Tuxedo Kamen hissed. "Is it the one we're looking for?"

Nephrite studied him for a moment, as if judging something about the question, the way it was phrased, or perhaps the speaker himself. "Only so you'll stop asking: it's not the Ginzuishou."

For a moment, Tuxedo Kamen dared to hope that he was lying, but there was something in Nephrite's eyes that made him think otherwise. Beneath the usual anger and elitism, there was just a hint of defeat that could only portend one thing. For whatever reason, Nephrite was telling the truth.

Tuxedo Kamen's heart sank. He knew it would have been too easy, too coincidental. It didn't change the fact that he had wanted it to be true. Just once, he wished things could be simple in his complicated world.

"What is it then?" Tuxedo Kamen asked, his voice decidedly more subdued.

Nephrite shrugged. "No idea." He grinned, and Tuxedo Kamen was reminded invariably of a lion. "Doesn't mean I can't use it. We both know it is a thing of power, and I would be a fool to discard any weapons of use in this war."

This brought on another question Tuxedo Kamen had always feared to ask. "And what's your end game? What do you want from us?"

Nephrite chuckled, deceptively relaxed for all of their straining against one another. "Do you really have to ask? We want the world, of course." He paused, the smile shifting from big cat to reptilian. "What you should be asking, boy, is what we plan to do once we have it. I assure you, the answer is far more interesting."

Tuxedo Kamen had never been more certain that this was something he didn't want to know. "I won't let you," he whispered earnestly.

"Try and stop me."

"I'll do more than try," Tuxedo Kamen promised. He released Nephrite's hands and accepted two blows to the chin he could not avoid.

And then he did something truly stupid.

He leapt, tackling Nephrite to the ground. The general was so taken off guard that he didn't immediately teleport out of the way. He had made sure to hit Nephrite on the left side, and when Tuxedo Kamen felt a large bump, he dove for it.

Nephrite grabbed his wrist as Tuxedo Kamen pulled it out. They now held it between them, the strange bauble that had caused so much pain. Caught between their hands, the crystal began to pulsate with light, flashing gold, over and over again.

"This world isn't yours," Tuxedo Kamen growled.

Nephrite yanked the crystal closer to him, even as Tuxedo Kamen countered with the same motion. "It was once. And it will be again."

Tuxedo Kamen's mind reeled. He knew he would never defeat Nephrite in hand-to-hand combat. But he also knew that Mars – Rei, really – had described this crystal as volatile. She had said that Nephrite would be reluctant to use magic around it unless his hand was forced. Clearly it had been, and nothing had happened. But their touch had caused something to stir within it.

Perhaps it needed a direct application.

"Mars!" Tuxedo Kamen bellowed.

"Little busy!" he heard her snap, followed directly by the sound of a fist connecting with flesh.

"Aim here!" he called.

Nephrite's eyes widened in panic, and he struggled furiously to pull the crystal away. "Don't."

Her heels clattered against the floor as she stopped in surprise. "What?"

"Now!"

He could sense her fear and hesitation, could tell that he was asking her for something she didn't want to do. He could also sense that she would answer his call. Heat prickled against his back as she called forth as much power as she could manage before Zoisite attacked.

"What are you doing?" Nephrite hissed, still working to get free. "Do you know what could happen?"

"Of course not," Tuxedo Kamen said coolly. "That's the point."

"FIRE…"

Nephrite's eyes widened in dawning horror. The crystal was heating up between their palms.

"SOUL!"

Nephrite released the crystal and began to scramble away, but he wasn't fast enough. Fire engulfed them, and they were surrounded by red and heat. Tuxedo Kamen felt his clothes spark and singe, and he smelled burning hair and flesh. They were trapped in an inferno of his own design.

Then all of a sudden it was gone. The crystal had sucked it up like a vacuum, and at that moment, Tuxedo Kamen couldn't hold it anymore. He tossed it up and watched as it burned like a giant coal. It flew through the air, shimmering crimson, flickering and waning… until for one brief moment, it stopped.

On instinct, Tuxedo Kamen threw himself backwards, taking Mars to the ground. He ignored her protests and covered her with his body. He looked toward Mercury and hoped Zoisite's prison would be enough to protect her from whatever was about to happen.

Then the room exploded.

Fire easily ten times the intensity that Mars had produced filled the room. It was as if a bomb had gone off. It was hotter than Tuxedo Kamen had imagined even hell could be, and he felt the skin on his back and arms blister. He screamed, listening to Zoisite and Nephrite's own cries until they abruptly cut off. They had retreated.

In the same instant, Mercury's cage disappeared. He threw off his cape and covered Mars with it as the flames raged on. He scrambled forward and gathered Mercury's prone body to his chest.

The room was completely ablaze, and it was spreading like a hungry monster. He straightened as far as he dared, crouching down low as he could manage. He stumbled over to Mars, who was coughing even worse now that he'd given her nothing but smoke to breathe. He reached down to help pull her to her feet, and for once, she didn't protest.

"We have to get out of here!" he shouted above the roar of the fire.

She looked at him with disdain but far less actual anger than she had in days. "No shit," she spat.

"We need to get out the way we came in. Can you make it?" he asked, eyeing her bleeding leg.

She nodded in earnest before fully covering her head. "I'll manage."

They raced forward, protecting their heads as best as they could. They burst into the hallway, which was already beginning to burn. They sped up, and even though Mars was limping, she matched his pace step for step.

Tuxedo Kamen heard a horrified yowl from his right, and both of them ground to a stop. Luna burst out of a side hallway, her eyes wide with panic. She gaped at the flames and started. "What happ—"

"No time," Mars rasped, opening her arms. "I'll carry you. Now!"

With the urgency of their situation evident, Luna leapt into Mars's arms, disappearing under the folds of the cloak a minute later.

They ran on, racing nature fueled and powered by magic. They were neck and neck through every twist and turn, every lengthy hallway. And all the while, the fire was just behind them, growing at a supernatural rate, burning everything in its path. Finally, they reached the room in question. The fire reached it a moment later and already began to climb the walls toward the opening.

Mars skidded to a halt and nearly collapsed. "I can't…" she panted. Tuxedo Kamen couldn't see her face through the cape and the smoke, but he thought she was crying. "I can't make the jump."

"Luna, climb on Mercury," he ordered. The black cat burst from the folds, settling on the unconscious girl's chest as securely as she dared. "On my back," he told Mars. "Now."

She was too tired to hesitate. She dropped the cape and circled her arms around his neck, letting her legs dangle. He saw the flames surging closer, up towards the opening faster than he could have ever imagined. Gritting his teeth, he crouched down and then pushed off the ground as hard as he could. They flew up, each of them praying that they would be faster than the inferno.

They burst out of the opening a are second before the fire swallowed it whole.

Once they hit the roof, Tuxedo Kamen didn't even take a step forward. He simply leaped again, off the roof and streaking to the ground. Mars released his neck as they crested, rolling when she hit the ground. He landed hard, and his knees shrieked with pain. Mars struggled to her feet and helped him up, pulling him along. They kept running until they were well away from the museum and secreted under the cover of darkness.

Hidden and safe at last, they collapsed. Luna immediately extricated her claws from Mercury's fuku and moved over to Mars, who was tremblin. The moment the cat was close enough, Mars gathered Luna up in her arms and held her as she would a childhood teddy bear. Luna allowed the discomfort, mewling sweetly and licking Mars's face with her tongue.

Tuxedo Kamen laid his back flush against a tree trunk, drinking in gulps of fresh air. He coughed and spat out a mouthful of ash. Lungs relatively clear, he began to check over Mercury's injuries.

But then he heard Mars began to giggle. He turned, gaping at her. Her face was marred with blood and soot, and tears were streaming down her face like dirty little rivers on her flesh. She was sobbing and laughing, and he found himself wondering in horror if she was broken.

"Mars?" he whispered, his voice croaking. He cleared it harshly, ignoring the pain. "Rei? Are you all right?"

She laughed and let out a shuddering sob in the same breath. "I've alive," she told him breathlessly. "We're both alive." She drew her knees up to her chest, wheezing. "We survived two Dark Kingdom generals.

"And Ami's going to kill us because we burned a museum down."

Tuxedo Kamen looked back the way they'd come. The entire building was blazing now, a beacon in the dark night. He heard the whine of approaching sirens and the frightened shouts of spectators as they ran to survey the damage.

"She's going to kill us!" Mars repeated, howling.

Tuxedo Kamen looked down at the slumbering girl in his arms. His cracked lips strained against his teeth. Then he began to chuckle, driven on by Mars. The chuckles soon dissolved into full-fledged laughter straight from his gut, matching Mars in volume if not desperation.

Not bothering to examine or over-analyze, Tuxedo Kamen reached over with one arm and pulled Mars to him. She was too addled to even be surprised. She simply clung to his side, pressing her face into the stained fabric of his tuxedo coat. He held her closer, encircling her neck with his arm. Then he laid his forehead against her brow and kept laughing into the night.

And if he cried too, neither Luna nor Mars pointed it out.

-----

The battle was over and done with as far as Sailor V knew. Though really, setting a building on fire was as good an ending as ever.

She'd done her due diligence insofar as she could allow. She'd led the guards away from the battle until they'd noticed the smoke. Then she'd had the good sense to shake them out of their surprise that the alarms weren't going off. After letting her pseudo-prisoners go, she'd even done a quick sweep of the building to see if there was anyone else around, and found a few guards one of the generals (she suspected Zoisite) had attacked. He'd only left one alive, and only just, but at least she was able to retrieve the other bodies before they got burnt beyond recognition.

Now she hid a block away from the museum, watching the smoke and fire from a distance. She clung to the shadows of the alley she waited in, rubbing her arms against a nonexistent chill.

After what seemed like an age, a tiny black and white feline crossed her path. She opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis cut her off. "That damn fool Luna spotted me and chased me up and down the building. And continued to do so after the place was on fire. I never thought I'd shake her."

Now that he'd stopped, she opened her mouth to ask the question she'd been dreading and found she couldn't speak.

He paused swishing his puffed out tail. "It's all right. They're all right."

Sailor V's knees gave out in relief. She hugged herself so tightly that it hurt. "Oh thank God. Thank God. But how?"

"No idea," Artemis confessed. "I rather suspect it had something to do with…." He gestured meaningfully at his singed fur.

On another day, Sailor V would have been curious as to how Mars conjured the firepower for such a display, but at the moment, she was so relieved, she didn't question it. "And the crystal?"

"I believe the correct terminology here is 'a crystal,'" Artemis said. "I managed to overhear that bit."

She rubbed her eyebrows, attempting to ease away a stress headache. "Well, of course not. Why should something go right this evening?"

Artemis set about the task of washing away all of the soot and grime. "Coming tonight was a mistake. I hope you know that."

Thinking back on her behavior, Sailor V couldn't help but agree. "We had no way of knowing. There's a saying about hindsight I'd mention, but I'm too exhausted to have you correct me. She hesitated before continuing, impulsively gathering Artemis into her arms. He protested only a little before settling into her lap, nuzzling her wrist with his chin.

"Do you know what I had to do tonight?" she murmured, shaking even now. "I had to leave a battle. It was one I deserved to fight, one they needed me for, and I had to turn and run. All because I couldn't risk being exposed."

"I'm sorry," he said, and she didn't doubt his sincerity for a minute. "I did warn you that might happen ages ago."

Sailor V held him more firmly to her chest. "I know you did. But I never thought… I always thought I'd just ignore you and fight anyway."

He snorted. "That does sound like you. Why didn't you?"

Fear gripped her so suddenly it was as if something had leapt at her from out of the dark. In a flash, memory arrested her, nostrils filling with the ghosts of smoke and ash slightly different from the scent that the air carried in the present. She heard the sounds of creaking wood and her own screams. She saw a pair of grey eyes gleaming in the distance, telling her to die so casually it had made her ill.

"Didn't want to deal with your lectures."

It was obvious he didn't believe her, but he said nothing to contradict this supposition.

"They could have died," she said, stating the obvious. "They could have died because I left them."

"They didn't."

"It was too great a risk!" she snapped, her voice shaking with barely suppressed emotion. "I was damned no matter what and… Artemis, how could I have forgiven myself? How could they have forgiven me?" She paused, slumping her shoulders. "They may not forgive me even though they did survive. I certainly wouldn't."

And in point of fact, she didn't.

Artemis inhaled slowly and said, "I don't think you should pull your watcher routine anymore."

She opened her mouth to offer the token protest.

"Let me finish," he insisted. "It's been killing you to wait on the sidelines observing, and after tonight… I know you, Aino Minako, and I know that you'll jump in at the first sign of trouble from here on out to make amends. I wouldn't blame you if you did, but we both know that will complicate matters to an insane degree. They aren't ready for you to appear yet." He paused. "And you ran was because they aren't ready for who would come after you."

She dropped him as if he'd clawed her.

"Don't talk about him."

"I know Kunzite—"

She barely stopped herself from covering her ears. "Don't say his name."

"For God's sake, Minako. It's not going to bring him here."

"Do you know that?" she snapped. "No. You don't. You weren't there. You didn't see how it was, so don't tell me that I'm being ridiculous. You have no idea, Artemis. None."

He bowed his head, chastened. "You're right. I wasn't. I won't bring him up again. I promise."

Sailor V swallowed the bile in her throat and nodded. "Okay."

She ran her hands through her hair, mussing the bow she'd tied too tightly earlier that day. "And okay to… the other thing too."

Cats couldn't arch their eyebrows, but his expression carried the same intent. "Really?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I can't deal with this anymore. So maybe it's selfish, but… I'll stay home from now on."

Artemis looked at her sadly. "Do you really think it's selfish? When you know what we're aiming for?"

"I _know_ it's selfish," she answered coldly, gathering him into her arms again. "But you keep telling me the mean ends are justifiable."

"That's not—"

"I know."

Artemis sighed, but let the subject drop. He came forward and rubbed up against her legs, offering no protest when she pulled him into her arms. She rubbed her cheek against his soft fur, scratching idly.

"By the way," he muttered, purring, "you made sure none of the guards recognized you, right?"

Her fingers stilled for only a moment as she remembered. The flashing lights of her attack and the moonlight spilling in the windows threatening to illuminate her. Still, she had kept to the shadows, ensuring that the secret of Sailor V endured. They hadn't seen her. Couldn't have seen her. Even when she took them by the hand, she made sure to protect herself. She could have been Mars or Mercury or another Senshi entirely. There was no reason for them to suspect that it was her.

And yet….

"Minako?"

"Sorry, spaced out," she said. "They didn't see me. I'm sure of it. Don't worry."

She repeated that over and over again in her mind until she could believe it.

-----

When the phone rang in the dead of night, Senator Hino knew that it could not possibly be good news. No one called you at three in the morning because they were happy. Celebrations could always wait for the dawn.

In his opinion, he'd had more than his fair share of these phone calls. The political and sexual scandals of his mentors and protégés. His mother's suicide. His daughter's birth and his wife's subsequent death. Now it seemed there would be another to add to the list.

Senator Hino fumbled for the phone, knocking his alarm clock to the ground. He held it to his ear and grumbled, "What's happened?"

"Sorry to wake you at this hour, Senator Hino. It's Morita."

Of course, Nibori recognized the voice from the first, and upon doing so, he had realized what the call must be about. All grogginess vanished. "The Senshi."

"Yes, sir. You said to report any new activity to you, day or night."

"I don't need a summary of what I told you, Morita," Nibori snapped. "What's happened?"

Morita apologized and launched into a summary of the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen's remarkable evening. Breaking into a museum, destroying national treasures, and either causing or failing to prevent several deaths was more than even he expected. It would certainly serve his campaign against them well.

"Thank you, Morita. Please contact my staff so that we can prepare a statement for the morning news cycle."

"Of course, sir. But… there's one more thing."

Nibori paused, poised to hang up the phone but halted by the hesitation in Morita's voice. "Yes?"

"One of the guards described to me how he managed to escape the building once it was on fire. He recounted chasing one of the Senshi for several minutes before she led him out."

"What of it?"

"…sir, he described her as blonde and wearing a blue costume. And he's not sure, but he believes he saw a crescent on her forehead."

Nibori's palms broke out into a cold sweat. He sat straight and turned on the light, nearly upending the lamp in the process. "He is claiming to have seen Sailor V?"

"He's not positive, sir, and none of the other guards can confirm it."

The receiver shook in Nibori's tightening grip. "I was told she was dead."

"That is what Interpol and Scotland Yard believer, Senator, but they were never able to confirm. A body was never found."

"I don't have to tell you that that isn't acceptable," Nibori seethed. "If her existence is confirmed, a significant percentage of the population may change their support. Sailor V may be a Senshi, but she's altogether different than this group. She's managed not to get anyone killed."

"To our knowledge, sir."

Nibori snorted. "A small comfort."

"What are your instructions, sir?"

"Bribe the guard," Nibori said. "We have the funds."

"And if he won't take the bribe, sir?"

The senator reached for the bottle of scotch he now kept by his bed and took a long swallow. As warmth spread through his belly, he said, "Then you take care of it another way."

"Understood, sir."

"Good," Nibori said. "As far as the people of Japan are concerned, Sailor V is either a figment or a corpse. Keep it that way."

-----

When they calmed down, the three of them (plus Mercury) slowly made their way back to their hotel, and Mercury still hadn't come around. Tuxedo Kamen, for once being the least injured party, scaled the building and carried both soldiers to their room. The moment she was in, Mars transformed back into Rei and promptly collapsed on the bed.

"Bloodstains," Luna admonished gently, still hovering over the fire soldier.

"We'll steal the sheets," Rei whispered, thoroughly exhausted from the battle and her minor breakdown. "Or burn them."

Luna sniffed. "Do we really need more fire in our lives right now?"

Rei shrugged and reached over to scratch Luna behind the ears.

Mamoru sighed, laying Mercury down on her bed. His burns ached intensely, but he kept his face straight for the benefit of the others. He could wait and tend to himself later. "I'll be right back with my first aid stuff."

Rei shook her head. "Check the closet. Ami brought some too."

Mamoru sagged with relief. He limped to the indicated closet, and dug for the first aid kit in question. He immediately laid hands on some painkillers. He ripped the bottle open and swallowed three. Then he capped the bottle again and tossed it onto Rei's bed by the window. "Take at least two of those."

Rei eyed them with scrutiny. "Will they knock me out?"

"No."

"Give me the ones that knock me out."

He chuckled. "I think I'll have to go back to my room for that… and I think I should see to her first. She's got to be badly concussed. I felt two bumps on her head."

Rei scowled, and while the effect was usually suitably unsettling, she looked positively terrifying under a mask of blood and soot. "I am going to kill him."

"Get in line," Mamoru and Luna voiced in the same breath.

Mamoru pulled some smelling salts out of the bag and went to Mercury's side. He had to wave them under her nose for a moment longer than he would have hoped, but eventually, she came around. Though she didn't seem too happy about it.

"Ow," she whimpered horribly. "What…? Where—"

"It's all right," Mamoru assured her. "We're back at the hotel. It's over."

Mercury stared at him, uncomprehending. "What?"

"It's a long story," Mamoru started to say.

"There was another general looking for the crystal," Rei grumbled. "He got the drop on you. Nephrite found the thing we were looking for first, but it's not the Ginzuishou. We fought about it. And any resulting fire damage is totally Mamoru's fault."

"Okay maybe not that long," Mamoru amended.

"Give me the details when it doesn't feel like my head is going to explode," Mercury murmured, letting her transformation melt away. It was a sure sign that she was concussed that she ignored Mamoru's presence. "Also, I have double vision. Possibly triple."

It seemed they were all willing to forget about his lies of omission for the time-being. So much the better as far as he was concerned. And maybe later he'd even tell them about Sailor V. He wondered what had happened to her after they split up. He was momentarily gripped by the horror that she might not have gotten out, but he quickly discounted it. The most likely scenario was that she'd been too busy leading the guards away and then getting them out alive. Chances were good he'd be seeing her again soon.

"Do you know I saw the strangest thing tonight?" Luna began, whiskers twitching. "A white… Actually, let's discuss it later. Turn on the television and see if there's anything about the fire."

Mamoru obliged, having his suspicions of what white thing Luna had seen. It took a little flipping to get passed the ridiculous game shows and adult programming, but eventually he landed on a news channel. The image of the decimated museum filled the screen.

Ami shouted as if someone had torn a limb from her body. "What did you do?"

"Did I mention that the fire is totally his fault?" Rei repeated.

"I find that very hard to believe," Ami moaned as Mamoru tentatively levered her up to check on her head wounds.

Mamoru laughed sheepishly. "Actually, it sort of was my fault."

"Why do you hate history?"

"Shh, they're talking!" Luna announced, perching on the end of the bed.

"For those of you just tuning in," a harried voiceover said, "we are filming at the scene of a devastating fire at the Tokyo National Museum. Authorities are perplexed as to the origin of the blaze, as well as the complete lack of response by sprinklers, alarms, or any other security measures."

Ami let out a terrible sounding sob, and Mamoru thought he'd hurt her. "My fault," she whimpered.

"No," Rei soothed. "Definitely Mamoru's."

The voiceover continued. "We'll keep you posted on this story throughout the night as developments… wait. We've just received an update…. Oh! Oh, my! Well, this is…. Authorities have just found evidence that the famous, or perhaps infamous, Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen, may have been involved in tonight's museum fire."

Ami made another horrible little sound, and Mamoru despaired of cheering her.

"An artifact reputedly belonging to one of the Sailor Senshi has been recovered from the wreckage. No word yet as to whether or not they were responsible for the blaze or what the trio was doing tonight at the Tokyo National museum."

Rei grunted, wiping her arm across her eyes. It came away filthy. "I wish we'd had time to get the crystal back."

Mamoru frowned. "But how would they know that the crystal was ours?"

"They did seem sure it belonged to us," Luna murmured.

Suddenly, Ami's eyes bugged out of her head. She jumped to her feet and began thrusting her hands into her pockets. Both Mamoru and Rei were up in an instant trying to push her down.

"Ami! Ami, what's wrong?" Rei asked.

"Ami, please, you know better," Mamoru chided. "You need to lie down."

"I can't find them," she hissed frantically. "I can't, I can't…" She looked at the three of them with dawning horror. "They're gone. They're not here. I must have… Oh, God. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Mamoru shook his head, completely lost. "Ami, what are you sorry about? What's gone?"

"The blue crystal for one, but that's not the worst of it," Ami moaned.

Luna's hair stood on end. "What is the worst of it?"

"My computer," she whispered in terror. "They found my computer at the museum."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Well, haven't had one that long in a while, huh? The main reason for that of this update is that several of the scenes – including the first Sailor V/Tuxedo Kamen meet-up, the Dark Kingdom scenes at the beginning, and just about everything to do with the blue crystal – were originally drafted to be in the last chapter. Then my beta pointed out that the crystal stuff didn't quite fit in thematically, and as it tends to go with most of both beta's suggestions, I had to admit that it was the way to go. So that left the chapter at nearly 20 pages of old material alone.

Well, regardless, I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry there was such a gap between updates! I'm hoping to be more regular with updating everything shortly, but let me put emphasis on hope.

To respond to a few reviewers, one pointed out that Mamoru and the girls were talking about how Reika's youma, Rikokayder, was the first one with a name… when I'd forgotten about Tetis! Whoops! ^^; That problem's been fixed now, and I'm very sorry about that mistake! I was bound to lose track of a little continuity every now and again; wish it hadn't been something so obvious, but these things happen. Damn fallibility.

And several have said that Makoto hasn't appeared yet. I just want to point out that this isn't technically true. She has had a very short cameo prior to this chapter. Can you spot it? ^_~ I did try to give her a cameo in this chapter, but every attempt proved to be either clunky or distracting. But have no fear – plenty of Makoto shall appear in the near future.

Up next, our intrepid heroes once again take a page from Ocean's Eleven, Rei swallows her pride - which goes about as well as you'd expect, Zoisite throws a bitch fit of epic proportions, and at long last, Jupiter comes thundering in. See? I told you she'd be here soon.

Coming Soon – Part Twelve: Falling Star, Falling Rain


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